GIFT  OF 


The  True  and  the  False 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST 

B?- 

THOMAS  CORWIN  CHAPMAN 


THE  TRUE  AND 
THE  FALSE 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY 
OF  THE  CHRIST 


BY 

THOMAS  CORWIN  CHAPMAN 


Tfa 

jr//7nfr&  y^-^Piint-ni*  4- 


COPYRIGHT   1914 
IY  T.    C.    CHAPMAN 


PRESS   OF  THE 

SEASIDE    PRINTING   CO. 

LONG    BEACH.  CAL. 


CONTENTS 

In    the    First    Place 2 

A    False    Christ 6 

Christ   and   His   Apostles 17 

Our    Babylon    20 

Fakeisms    21 

"In  Thy  Name"  - 22 

Topically    28 

Man  in   the   Superlative 29 

Philosophical    Presumption    30 

The  Temptation,  an  Index  and  a  Testing ....  34 

A  Friendly  Suggestion  37 

What  to   Seek  First 39 

The   Greatest   of   All   Laws 40 

A  Challenge  for  a  "Sign" 43 

The  Point  of  View 46 

A  False  Issue  : 48 

The  "Still,  Small  Voice" 50 

The  Concurrance  of  Miracle  and  Mercy 52 

A  Flattering  Offer  53 

Expectations  of  the   Jews 58 

A  Moral  and  Mental  Hercules 59 

A  Broad  Gauged  Man 63 

A  Friend  of  the  Friendless 65 

The   Narrow  Way   66 

The....  Devil's  Disciples  70 

Nicodemus  the   Dubious   74 

Believed  but  Doubted  77 

But  the  Doctrine  Stands 77 

Believing  —  but 79 

He  Joins  the  Church 80 

An  Influential  Member 81 

Conservative  in  Religion  Only ..  82 

Not  All  of  Nicodemus 84 

"Repent  Ye"   86 

A    Philipic    90 

The  Church  Promoter 95 

An    Interim    100 

A  New  Doctrine  104 

True  Orthodoxy  109 

Satan    Cast    Out Ill 

The    Unpardonable    Sin 116 

"Whose  Son  is  He?" 120 

A  New  Feeling  124 

The  Plot  Thickens   127 

The  Beginning  of  the  End .....132 

"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God" ....135 


293220 


IN  THE  FIRST  PLACE. 

A  True  Vision  of  the  True  Christ,  is  fundamental 
to  True  Repentance  and  True  Faith,  and  hence  to 
Salvation.  The  conviction  of  the  writer,  amounting 
to  a  certainty  that  there  is  abroad  in  the  land  a  false 
Christ,  a  false  repentance  and  a  false  faith,  has  led  to 
the  publication  of  this  book.  Its  chief  object  is  to 
induce  the  reader  to  go  to  Christ  as  the  Supreme 
Teacher,  and  learn  of  Him. 

If  you  can  get  at  it  better,  you  might  use  in  the 
place  of  "vision,"  the  word  "conception,"  "percep- 
tion/* "knowledge,"  or  "understanding"  of  Christ 
who  is  "God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  The  thought  may 
be  communicated  in  various  ways:  By  direct  revela- 
tion, by  a  Study  of  Christ  as  hereinafter  attempted, 
by  the  preaching  of  Christ  so  as  to  convey  a  true 
vision  of  his  Personality,  by  contact  with  those  who 
have  been  with  Christ  and  "learned  of  Him,"  who 
thus  become  "living  epistles,  known  and  read  of  all 
men,"  and  whose  lives  are  a  constant  rebuke  to  sin; 
and  I  will  not  say  that  it  cannot  come  to  us  without 
apparent  means,  for  it  is  always  brought  to  us  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  what  "ways  and  means"  He  may 
employ  I  dare  not  say. 

In  illustration  here  is  the  case  of  Job:  In  his  last 
chapter  he  said,  "I  have  heard  of  Thee  by  the  hearing 
of  the  ear,  but  now  mine  eye  SEETH  Thee.  Where- 


THE  FALSE 


fore  I  ABHOR  MYSELF,  AND  REPENT  IN  DUST 
AND  ASHES."  Thus  what  hearing  could  not  do  nor 
long  and  intense  suffering  accomplish,  a  TRUE 
VISION  of  the  Lord  performed  with  great  thorough- 
ness. It  made  the  righteous  Job  abhor  himself  and 
repent  in  dust  and  ashes. 

And  there  is  Jacob:  A  reading  of  Genesis  from 
the  twenty-fifth  to  and  including  the  thirty-second 
chapter,  discloses  the  sad  fact  that  he  was  a  consumate 
crook  up  to  the  time  when  "there  wrestled  a  man 
with  him  until  the  breaking  of  the  day."  After  this 
struggle  was  over,  we  find  the  following  entry:  "And 
Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  Penial,  for  I  have 
seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is  preserved/*  Now 
read  on  and  you  will  be  delighted  to  learn  that  Jacob 
the  supplanter  and  crook  has  passed  forever,  and  from 
that  time  on  he  was  straight.  In  other  words  he  had 
an  "experience/'  was  "converted"  and  his  name 
changed  to  suit  the  new  man  thus  brought  forth. 

What  prophet  was  equal  to  Isaiah,  who  wrote 
the  Gospel  seven  hundred  years  before  the  coming  of 
Christ?  In  his  sixth  chapter  we  find  how  he  received 
the  annointing  for  this  work.  He  saw  a  vision  of  the 
Lord  "sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and 
His  train  filled  the  temple/'  After  describing  what 
followed,  he  says:  "Woe  is  me!  for  I  am  undone; 
because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips:  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Continuing  he 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  5 

says:  "Then  flew  one  of  the  seraphims  unto  me, 
having  a  live  coal  in  his  hand,  which  he  had  taken 
with  the  tonga  from  off  the  altar,  and  he  laid  it  upon 
my  mouth  and  said  *Lo,  this  hath  touched  thy  lips, 
and  thine  iniquity  is  taken  away  and  thy  sin  purged.' 
Also  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  saying,  'Whom 
shall  I  send  and  who  will  go  for  us?'  Then  said  I, 
'here  am  I,  send  me/  '  What  a  complete  vision  is 
here!  The  seeing  of  the  Lord,  the  consequent  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  the  purging  thereof,  and  the  ac- 
ceptance of  his  mission.  Could  any  thing  be  more 
complete? 

Others  might  be  mentioned,  but  brevity  is  the 
word,  and  if  the  reader  wants  he  can  hunt  them  up 
himself.  We  turn  now  to  the  fact  that  Christ  was  the 
Exponent  of  Deity.  The  Scriptures  are  full  of  this 
doctrine,  and  I  quote  one  only  out  of  many  passages 
to  show  it:  "No  one  knoweth  the  Son  save  the 
Father,  neither  doth  any  know  the  Father  save  the 
Son,  AND  HE  TO  WHOMSOEVER  THE~SON  RE- 
VEALETH  HIM/' 

It  is  the  bring  thus  a  true  vision  of  the  Father  as 
manifested  in  the  true  Christ  home  to  the  conscious- 
ness, that  inspires  repentance  and  faith.  When  Peter 
fell  down  before  Christ  and  frantically  exclaimed, 
"Depart  from  me  O  Lord,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,"  he 
was  moved  by  the  same  vision  as  were  Job,  Isaiah, 
et  al.  Paul  thought  that  verily  he  was  doing  God 
service  by  persecuting  the  Church  till  he  met  the  vision 


6  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

of  Christ  on  the  way  to  Damascus.  But  these  men  had 
special  missions  and  hence  were  prepared  for  them  by 
these  direct  revelations  of  the  divine  character.  It  is 
not  so  with  us  all,  but  we  must  each  have  his  'Vision" 
of  the  divine  character  in  order  to  realize  the  "exceed- 
ing  sinfulness  of  sin/*  and  by  repentance  and  submis- 
sion to  the  divine  will,  know  that  this  Father  of  ours, 
whom  we  are  thus  made  to  "KNOW*  will  hear  us. 
Thus  is  true  faith  born  in  the  heart. 

When  Christ  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  He  did  not  de- 
clare Himself,  but  He  simply  "SHOWED**  Himself 
to  the  rulers.  As  they  did  not  recognize  Him  as  the 
Christ,  He  called  them  "blind  leaders  of  the  blind.*' 
As  they  were  blinded  by  selfishness,  He  called  them 
hypocrites,  serpents  and  vipers.  He  said  to  them 
"how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell?*'  They 
failed  to  respond  to  the  divine  nature  as  shown  in 
Christ,  and  must  die  in  their  sins. 

And  SO  MUST  WE  ALL  IF  WE  TURN  OUR 
BACKS  ON  HIM  WHO  ALONE  HATH  THE 
WORDS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE. 

A  FALSE  CHRIST. 

As  there  is  only  on  true  God  and  many  false 
gods,  so  is  there  only  one  true  Christ  and  many 
false  christs.  This  will  by  some  be  considered  a  rash 
statement,  but  what  if  it  should  turn  out  to  be  true? 
And  if  we  have  a  false  christ,  how  much  better  off 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  7 

are  we  than  those  who  have  false  gods?  Are  we  not 
pagans  as  well  as  they? 

"But,"  one  may  well  ask,  "what  justification  can 
there  be  for  such  a  monstrous  supposition  ?"  Hold  on 
now  until  the  facts  are  presented.  Such  a  profound 
thinker  as  Canon  Farrer  has  said:  "Even  the  God- 
man  Christ  Jesus  may  be  monstrously  misrepresented 
to  us  in  art  and  theology.  To  Michael  Angelo  he  was 
a  wrathful,  averaging  Hercules,  hurling  ten  thousand 
thunders  on  the  crushed,  convulsed,  demon-tortured 
innumerable  multitude  for  whom  he  died  in  vain.  To 
many  of  the  schoolmen  his  ideal  was  the  self-absorb- 
sion  and  squalid  asceticism  of  the  monkish  cloister. 
Priests  have  offered  a  dead  christ  for  the  living  Christ; 
an  agonized  chirst  for  the  ascended  Christ;  an  ecclesi- 
astical christ  for  the  divine  Christ;  a  sectarian  christ 
for  the  universal  Christ;  a  petty,  formalizing,  phari- 
saical  christ  for  the  royal  Lord  of  the  great  free  heart 
of  manhood;  a  christ  far  off  in  the  centuries  instead  of 
ever  nigh  at  hand;  a  christ  of  the  exclusive  fold  for 
the  Christ  of  the  one  great  flock;  a  Christ  of  Gerizim 
or  of  Jerusalem,  or  of  Rome,  or  of  Geneva,  or  of  Am- 
sterdam, or  of  modern  Oxford,  for  the  Christ  of  the 
eternal  heavens  and  of  the  universal  world."  Others 
might  be  quoted,  but  the  above  is  sufficient  to  show 
that  the  writer  is  not  alone  in  the  assertion  that  there 
are  false  christs  in  the  world. 

It  is  said  by  a  converted  native  of  India  that  tKe 
English  brought  to  them  an  English  Christ,  and  as 


8  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

they  hated  the  English,  it  naturally  followed  that  they 
likewise  hated  this  English  christ.  But  he  tells  us 
that  now  they  are,  in  that  vast  country,  learning 
something  as  to  the  actual  Christ,  and  many  are  turn- 
ing to  Him  with  inquiring  minds  and  longing  hearts. 

But  Christendom  itself  has  the  same  trouble  to 
overcome.  Did  the  writer  not  believe  this,  these  lines 
would  never  have  been  penned.  It  seems  a  hard 
thing  to  say,  but  is  nevertheless  true,  that  with  us  the 
schoolmen,  and  following  them,  our  pulpits,  have  fur- 
nished us  with  a  casuistic,  man-made  christ,  who  is  in 
many  vital  respects,  unlike  the  real  Christ  of  Matthew, 
Mark,  Luke  and  John,  and  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that 
this  christ  the  Common  People  refuse  to  hear  or  fol- 
low. But  more  of  this  anon. 

As  the  Savior  of  men  is  now  made  to  appear  to 
the  common  vision,  he  seems  so  far  removed  from  or- 
dinary people  as  to  be  almost  out  of  touch  with  mere 
man  and  woman  kind.  As  presented  to  us  by  the 
generality  of  the  pulpit  and  press,  his  humanity  is  a 
mere  matter  of  form,  devoid  of  our  common  flesh  and 
blood.  He  is  not  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  in- 
firmity. Any  sympathy  he  may  be  supposed  to  have 
for  human  weakness  is  merely  perfunctory.  On  the 
contrary  he  is  notably  censorious,  austere  and  aristo- 
cratic, disdaining  to  eat  with  publicans  and  sinners. 

It  was  written  of  Jesus  that  "He  went  throughout 
every  city  and  village  preaching  and  showing  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God/'  But  the  theological 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  9 

christ  of  today  prefers  to  confine  his  efforts  to  the 
large  cities  and  great  auditoriums,  where  polite  society 
assembles,  leaving  the  villages  and  out-of-the-way 
places  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  Satanic  majesty. 
Furthermore,  he  descends  to  the  use  of  what  is  called 
*  'methods,"  by  which  almost  any  plan  that  insures 
"success"  may  be  resorted  to.  This  includes  that 
doubtful  and  slippery  subterfuge  called  "tact";  He 
shows  a  penchant  for  and  lays  an  unwarranted  stress 
on  Paul's  "I  caught  you  with  guile,"  as  though  guile 
were  a  panacea  for  all  the  spiritual  ills  the  soul  of 
man  is  heir  to.  Thus  with  worldly-wisedness  he  ac- 
cepts the  code  and  moves  on  the  plane  of  social  re- 
spectability, avoiding  contact  with  the  troubles,  woes 
and  sins  of  those  who  especially  need  his  ministrations. 
The  Common  Herd  does  not  particularly  interest  him, 
much  less  the  poor  and  needy.  As  for  the  vicious,  the 
publicans  and  sinners,  the  harlots  and  the  general 
riffraf  of  mankind,  away  with  them! 

There  is  another  very  important  and  prominent 
feature  of  this  man-made,  twentieth-century  christ  of 
ours:  He  is  decidedly  weak  in  his  make-up.  He  lacks 
those  stalwart  and  rugged  qualities  which  so  endeared 
to  the  Common  People  the  actual  Christ  of  two  mil- 
leniums  ago.  For  instance,  we  long  in  vain  for  him  to 
cleanse  God's  temple  of  them  that  traffic  therein.  On 
the  contrary  he  seems  to  look  with  complaisancy  on 
these  profit-sharing  custodians  of  the  divine  oracles. 
Furthermore  the  hypocritical  scribes  and  Pharisees 


10          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

need  not  fear  the  wrath  of  this  modern  Messianic 
product  of  our  theological  schools.  As  our  religious 
institutions  are  now  made  up  it  would  be  ecclesiastical 
suicide  for  him  to  apply  to  them  the  gruesome  simile 
of  the  painted  sepulcher,  and  he  dare  not  do  it  if  he 
were  so  inclined.  He  is  vascellating  and  time-serving 
—chanting  the  praises  of  the  great  and  leaving  the 
helpless  to  take  care  for  themselves. 

How  natural  it  is,  especially  with  those  of  us  who 
are  of  the  Common  People,  to  love  and  worship  and 
follow  a  Hero.  We  actually  delight  to  boost  for  the 
man  who,  if  the  need  comes,  stands  alone  against  any 
and  all  odds,  and  who  neither  offers  nor  accepts  a 
compromise.  The  current  pulpit  christ  above  referred 
to,  is  not  of  this  kind,  but  such  a  Man  was  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  It  does  not  appear  that  at  any  time,  under 
any  circumstances,  did  he  abate  or  withhold  one  iota 
of  the  full  and  exact  truth,  though  from  our  stand- 
point it  would  many  times  appear  that  he  could  have 
best  served  his  purpose  by  so  doing.  I  have  searched 
in  vain  for  any  evidence  to  the  contrary  of  this  state- 
ment. When  the  multitude  would  have  made  him 
king,  we  naturally  listen  for  Him  to  talk  softly  to  them, 
and  gently  show  them  the  error  into  which  they  had 
fallen.  But  he  turns  on  them  and  reads  to  them 
from  their  own  minds  the  actual  motive  that  prompts 
them.  He  shows  them  up  to  themselves,  the  most 
cutting  thing  that  can  be  done.  In  the  most  explicit 
terms  he  exposes  the  utter  selfishness  of  their  designs, 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  11 

and  from  that  point  they  turn  back  from  following 
Him.  From  that  time  the  period  of  his  unpopularity 
begins.  Afterward,  as  He  was  teaching  in  the  temple, 
as  related  by  John,  we  find  the  following  passage: 
"As  he  spake  these  words,  many  believed  on  Him. 
Then  said  Jesus  to  those  Jews  which  believed  on  Him, 
'If  ye  continue  in  my  word,  then  are  ye  my  disciples  in- 
deed, and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall 
make  you  free/  *  This  touched  them  in  a  tender 
spot,  for  they  rejoiced  in  being  of  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, and  of  having  never  been  in  bondage 
to  any  man.  Right  here  a  controversy  began  that 
ended  with  these  people  who  "believed  on  Him," 
charging  Him  with  having  a  devil,  and  picking  up 
stones  with  which  to  stone  Him  to  death. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  record  shows  that 
with  Him  there  was  no  "tact,"  nothing  of  those  school- 
made  terms  known  as  "policy"  nor  "method"  except 
that  of  the  simple  and  unadorned  truth.  He  was  too 
strong  to  be  even  tempted  by  such  trifling  things. 
True,  He  was  tender  as  a  child  for 

"The  bravest  are  the  gentlest,  * 

but  He  was  a  MAN  for  all  that,  and  in  everything  that 
goes  to  make  a  man  was  head  and  shoulders  above 
any  other  man  of  whom  history  speaks.  To  the  poor 
and  needy,  to  the  penitent  and  sorrowing,  He  was  as 
sympathetic  as  a  woman,  and  forgot  Himself  in  min- 
istering to  them.  Even  the  common  sinner  got  no  re- 
proof from  Him.  But  to  the  hypocritical  and  mercen- 


12  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

ary,  He  was  ever  the  minister  of  wrath.  Though  He 
was  "subject  to  His  parents/'  and  always  submissive 
to  the  Father's  will,  yet  never  from  Bethlehem  to 
Golgotha,  did  He  once  yield  His  point,  except  upon 
one  occasion.  That  was  in  His  seeming  controversy 
with  the  poor  Canaanitish  woman,  who  insisted  that  her 
daughter  just  MUST  be  healed.  What  a  marvelous 
Wonder  of  the  Ages  was  He!  He  was  Man  in  the 
Superlative— the  ONLY  REAL  COSMOPOLITAN* 
But  how  much  of  this  can  be  said  of  the  current 
pulpit  christ?  We  must  not  forget  that  there  have  al- 
ways been  preachers  who  have  honestly  striven  to 
manfully  fulfill  their  "high  calling"  by  preaching 
Christ  as  he  is.  Let  us  hope  that  their  numbers  are 
increasing.  At  present,  sad  to  say,  they  are  in  the 
minority,  and  the  ordinary  pulpit  christ  remains  the 
same. 

This  weak  and  vascillating,  this  censorious  and 
exacting,  this  shifty  and  world-conforming,  this  con- 
troversial and  hair-splitting  christ,  who  tithes  mint  and 
rue  and  cummin,  and  neglects  weightier  matters;  who 
takes  the  emphasis  off  the  substance  and  places  it  on 
the  shadow;  who  forsakes  the  gutters  of  sin  for  the 
walks  of  respectability,  and  who,  like  the  ancient 
priest  and  Levite,  passes  by  on  the  other  side,  leaving 
the  vast  multitudes  of  sinning  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren weltering  in  their  blood,  has  nothing  in  common 
with  the  Glorious,  the  Matchless,  the  Superlative  Christ 
of  the  Wilderness,  of  Gerthsemine  and  the  Cross.  In 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  13 

fact  he  is  no  better  than  ourselves,  for  He  is  the  work 
of  our  own  hands! 

Pointedly  stated,  we  have  made  unto  ourselves 
a  christ  in  our  own  image,  even  as  the  people  of  old 
made  themselves  gods  and  endowed  them  with 
their  own  personalities.  To  undo  our  folly  we  must 
turn  from  this  work  of  our  hands  to  the  great  proto- 
type, of  which  ours  is  but  a  clumsy  counterfeit.  In 
other  words,  we  must  STUDY  THE  CHRIST  OF  THE 
GOSPELS,  AND  TAKE  HIM  AS  HE  THERE  AP- 
PEARS. 

By  some  these  may  be  termed  rash  words,  and 
ill-considered,  but  the  aweful  subject  has  been  ap- 
proached with  fear  and  trembling.  What  am  I  that 
I  dare  speak  aught  but  the  truth  as  I  am  able  to  see  it? 
Of  course  the  intelligent  reader  will  understand  that 
the  reference  is  solely  to  a  current  conception,  or 
rather  misconception  of  the  Christ,  only,  and  that  it  is 
intended  to  represent  that  conception  or  misconcep- 
tion, asit  is  published  and  declared  by  theologians,  and 
the  generality  of  the  pulpit  and  press. 

When  the  real  Christ  was  with  us  in  His  own 
proper  person,  though  the  hypocritical  scribes  and 
Pharisees  and  the  worldly  minded  Saducees  set  them- 
selves to  violently  oppose  Him,  yet  we  are  told  that 
they  feared  the  people,  for  "the  Common  People 
heard  Him  gladly.'*  The  "higherups"  and  their  tools,, 
the  real  criminals,  were  the  only  ones  who  sought  his 
crucifixion.  The  heart  of  the  Common  People  has 


14  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

always  been  sound.  As  the  great  Middle  Class,  they 
have  always  constituted  the  great  Balance  Wheel  of 
Society.  When  and  where  this  middle  class,  or  the 
Common  People  has  lost  control,  anarchy  has  pre- 
vailed. But  the  idle  rich  and  the  non-producing  crimi- 
nal classes,  are  always  a  menace  to  civilization,  be- 
cause of  their  extreme  selfishness.  They  crucified 
Christ  because  He  uncompromisingly  condemned 
them,  and  had  won  from  them  the  support  of  the  Com- 
mon People,  without  which  they  could  not  live  in  idle- 
ness. But  He  rose  from  the  dead  and  prevailed  in 
spite  of  them.  Then  the  worst  they  could  do  was  to 
MISCONSTRUE  Him  by  obscuring  those  particular 
qualities  of  the  great  Master  that  stood  in  their  way, 
and  clothing  Him  with  attributes  He  never  possessed. 
To  the  extent  they  can  do  this,  they  rob  the  Common 
People  of  their  great  leader,  and  rob  Christ  of  the 
following  of  the  Common  People. 

If  the  current  pulpit  christ  is  as  above  represent- 
ed, what  wonder  is  it  that  vast  multitudes  of  the 
Common  People  refuse  to  follow  him?  If  they  are 
to  be  commended  for  accepting  the  real  Christ,  are 
they  not  to  be  likewise  commended  for  rejecting  the 
unreal?  It  is  my  fond  belief  that  the  Common  People 
would  as  gladly  listen  to  the  real  Christ  today  as  they 
did  in  his  Gallilean  ministry.  They  are  the  same — 
their  needs,  their  hopes  and  fears,  their  longings  and 
aspirations  have  undergone  no  change.  The  grand 
and  glorious  fact  also  stands  out  that  the  Christ  of 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  15 

the  Gospels  is  the  same  now  as  then. 

Why  then  do  the  masses  of  the  Common  or 
Working  People  ignore  our  churches,  and  to  use  a 
hackneyed  phrase,  "turn  for  satisfaction  to  the  husks 
and  vanities  of  time?"  Are  not  the  Common  People 
to  blame  for  doing  this?  one  may  ask.  They  surely 
are.  They  could  and  should  hear  and  know  and  ac- 
cept the  real  Christ  as  He  is  set  forth  in  the  Gospels. 
He  is  "within  call,"  so  to  speak,  and  not  one  of  us 
has  a  legitimate  excuse  for  going  without  His  ministra- 
tions. But  this  does  not  answer  the  question  as  to 
why  do  the  masses  ignore  our  churches.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  they  accept  or  reject,  not  the  Christ  that  should 
be  presented  to  them,  but  the  christ  that  is  actually 
presented  to  them.  They  argue  that  the  church,  with 
all  its  schools  and  colleges,  with  its  learned  theolo- 
gians and  ministers  ought  to  know,  and  if  the  church 
presents  to  them  a  counterfeit  christ,  they  accept  or 
reject  as  the  case  may  be.  We  are  all  Catholics — 
what  the  church  says,  goes  with  us.  But  let  us  do  a 
little  thinking  for  ourselves,  and  get  over  this  depend- 
ing on  others  to  do  our  thinking  and  praying  for  us. 
In  other  words,  let  us  study  Christ  at  first  hand,  that 
is,  as  He  is  presented  in  the  Gospels,  and  not  as  He  is 
held  out  to  us  by  others. 


16  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

TO  KNOW  THE  TRUE  CHRIST  AND  HIS  KING- 
DOM. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  great  central  fact  of  our 
religion.  Without  Him  it  would  be  without  meaning — 
would  lack  significance.  Except  for  Him  the  Bible 
would  be  a  mere  classic.  To  leave  Him  out  would  be 
to  render  the  Apostles  impossible.  They  became 
what  they  were  because  of  Him.  They  finally  came  to 
know  Him,  and  from  that  fact  became  more  than  a 
match  for  heathendom.  For  it  is  our  conceptions  of 
Him,  right  or  wrong,  that  make  us  what  we  are,  and 
fit  or  unfit  us  for  His  kingdom.  To  know  Him 
ARIGHT  is  life  and  peace.  This  is  probably  why 
Paul  commends  to  the  Ephesians  "the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God/*  at  the  same  time  referring  to  cer- 
tain ones  whom  he  condemns  by  saying,  "But  ye  have 
not  so  learned  Christ,'*  implying  that  Christ  is  to  be 
LEARNED.  If,  therefore,  He  is  to  be  learned,  He 
must  be  STUDIED.  Along  this  line  Peter  exhorts  us 
to  "Grow  in  grace  and  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.*'  Christ  Himself  in  his  prayer  for  his 
disciples,  uses  this  significant  and  unmistakable 
language:  "And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  Thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom 
thou  hast  sent." 

If,  therefore,  to  know  God  and  Christ  is  eternal 
lift,  how  vital  to  us  must  be  the  study  that  necessarily 
precedes  such  knowledge!  There  can  be  nothing  so 
valuable  to  us  as  ETERNAL  LIFE,  and  as  the  knowl- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  17 

edge  of  Christ,  (Who  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and 
in  Whom  God  is  made  known  to  us,) — as  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  I  say  is  the  gateway  of  eternal  life, — 
how  dilligently  should  we  apply  ourselves  to  the  gain- 
ing of  this  knowledge,  by  the  study  of  Him  from 
whom  alone  it  can  come! 

CHRIST  AND  HIS  APOSTLES. 

With  this  in  view  the  writer  has  determined  in  a 
summary  manner,  to  outline  some  of  the  results  of 
his  study  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  This  is  done  not  so 
much  by  way  of  instruction,  as  to  stimulate  in  others 
a  like,  and  he  hopes  a  more  profound  and  edifying 
research  into  this  boundless  field  of  knowledge.  He 
is  the  more  readily  moved  to  this  because  of  the  be- 
lief that  the  study  is  a  neglected  one.  A  half-century 
of  more  or  less  activity  in  church  work,  has  left  him 
with  the  conviction  that  the  Apostle  Paul  is  actually 
better  understood  and  more  quoted  than  his  Lord  and 
Master. 

It  seems  that  the  controversial  character  of  our 
theology  is  responsible  for  this  condition.  The  points 
in  dispute  have  been  of  such  a  character  as  to  make 
the  letters  of  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  the 
most  abundant  source  from  which  to  draw  arguments 
with  which  to  bolster  up  the  respective  sects,  as  well 
as  to  throw  confusion  into  the  ranks  of  the  adversary. 
In  this  employment,  pertaining  as  it  does  to  speculative 
theology,  Paul  becomes  the  fountain  head  of  inspira- 


18          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

tion,  and  strange  to  say,  his  Lord  and  Master  a  secon- 
dary consideration. 

Quibble  about  it  as  we  may,  this  is  a  naked  fact, 
and  if  it  be  offered  in  paliation  that  Paul  wrote  to  ex- 
plain Christ,  this  cannot  alter  the  fact  that  we  are 
principally  employed  in  explaining  Paul  rather  than 
Christ. 

Yet,  no  one  ever  labored  with  such  zeal  to  oblit- 
erate himself  and  exalt  Christ,  as  did  Paul.  To  him, 
Jesus  the  Christ,  was  a  living,  ever-present  force,  and 
no  wisdom  or  knowledge  was  of  any  avail  except  it 
pertained  to  Him.  No  system,  no  philosophy,  no 
learning  could  charm  Paul  away  from  the  feet  of  Him 
whom  he  met  on  his  way  to  Damascus;  for  no  so- 
phistry, no  trick  of  rhetoric  and  no  other  device  of 
Satan  could  confuse  him  while  there.  In  His  exalted 
presence  Paul  became  the  greatest  and  grandest  of 
men.  And  in  one  sense  it  is  small  wonder  that, 
charmed  with  his  marvelous  thought  and  diction,  stu- 
dents of  his  writings  should  unwittingly  preach  Paul 
instead  of  the  Master  Whom  he  adored. 

Even  then  as  now,  there  was  this  same  tendency 
to  lose  sight  of  Christ  and  say,  one  that  he  was  of 
Paul,  another  of  Apolus,  another  of  Cephas,  and 
doubtless  others  that  they  were  of  this  or  that  one. 
In  fact  this  partizanship  became  so  alarming  that  Paul 
himself  rebukes  it  with  great  spirit.  And  there  was 
really  more  excuse  for  it  then  than  now,  for  the  church 
was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  made  up  almost  entirely 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  19 

of  recruits  from  the  babel  of  Paganism.  As  the  Gos- 
pel spread  over  the  Roman  world,  it  necessarily  came 
into  contact  with  every  moral  and  religious  system 
known  to  that  vast  aggregation  of  nations.  As  these 
many  and  diverse  systems,  one  by  one  gave  in  their 
adherance,  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  attempt 
to  interpret  Christ,  each  according  to  its  own  standards. 
This  of  course  lead  to  many  diverse  conceptions  of 
Him. 

Now  as  the  church  continued  to  expand,  and  as 
many  new  ones  were  formed,  these  several  interpreta- 
tions of  Christ  must  eventually  come  into  contact,  one 
with  another.  When  that  happened  friction  was  de- 
veloped, and  this  state  had  been  attained  even  in  the 
times  of  the  Apostles.  It  was  this  condition  that  call- 
ed forth  the  Apostolic  epistles.  But  perversity  is  a 
human  habit,  and  many  disagreements  persisted  in 
spite  of  these.  ..Champions  of  this  rendering  and  that 
sprung  up  on  every  hand.  The  main  issue  was  forgot- 
ten. The  Gospel  message  lost  its  significance.  Christ 
became  a  name  merely.  As  it  is  today,  His  name  was 
used  by  many  to  conjure  with  only.  In  fact  it  is  a 
matter  of  history,  that  as  the  Apostles  wrote  to  explain 
Christ,  so  the  fathers  wrote  to  explain  the  Apostles, 
and  others  again  to  explain  these  explanations,  this 
continuing  until  in  the  fourth  century  the  controversy 
threatened  the  peace  of  the  world. 


20  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

OUR  BABYLON. 

And  this  spirit  has  always  so  dominated  Chris- 
tendom that  it  has  ever  been  a  kind  of  Babel,  in  which 
the  voice  of  Christ  has  often  been  drowned  in  the  din 
of  doctrinal  dispute.  In  fact  it  has  many  times  been 
forgotten  in  the  clash  of  arms.  Even  today,  standing 
as  we  do  on  the  threshold  of  the  twentieth  century, 
full  of  our  own  fancies  and  those  we  have  in- 
herited, like  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  of  old,  our  ears 
seem  stopped  from  hearing  and  our  eyes  from  seeing 
anything  that  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  traditions  we 
have  received.  We  light  our  flickering  tapers  at  the 
alters  of  earth  and  hold  them  proudly  aloft  as  though 
to  dispel  Egyptian  darkness,  while  lo!  the  Sun  Himself 
shines  full  high  in  the  heavens,  AND  WE  SEE  IT 
NOT!  In  our  worldly  wisdom  we  fill  our  ears  with  the 
discords  around  us,  and  catch  not  a  note  of  the  Mas- 
ter's "If  any  man  will  do  His  will  HE  SHALL  KNOW 
OF  THE  DOCTRINE."  We  shout  our  Shiboleths  at 
one  another,  quoting  from  Paul,  Peter,  James  and 
John,  even  ringing  the  changes  on  Luther,  Calvin  and 
Wesley,  but  seldom  appealing  to  Christ! 

It  is  passing  strange  that  there  should  be  any 
excuse  for  saying  such  things,  and  some  will  say  that 
there  is  not.  In  proof  of  such  denial  it  will  be  pointed 
out  that  all  teaching  is  in  the  name  of  Christ.  That 
both  the  pulpit  and  religious  press  are  a  unit  on  this 
point.  That  His  name  is  foremost  in  every  sermon, 
editorial  or  thesis  ,  and  in  all  theological  text  books. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  21 

That  in  fact  no  one  pretends  to  advance  any  doctrine 
except  in  HIS  NAME. 

FAKEISMS. 

And  such  is  no  doubt  the  case.  It  is  a  deplorable 
fact  that  no  sooner  does  a  fadist  discover  something 
he  thinks  is  "new,"  than  he  at  once  proceeds  to  hitch 
it  to  the  name  of  Christ.  Every  kind  of  error,  none- 
sense  and  abomination  has  been  and  still  is  being  pro- 
mulgated in  the  name  of  Christ.  His  NAME  has  been 
and  is  being  made  to  do  duty  for  all  descriptions  of 
crankisms  and  religious  confidence  games  that  can  by 
hook  or  crook  be  perpetrated  on  an  honest  and  un- 
suspecting public. 

They  all  appeal  to  Christ,  and  their  success  is  due 
only  to  the  general  misinformation  of  the  Common 
People  as  to  His  true  character  and  teaching.  Had 
the  preachers  and  theologians  been  heretofore  as  zeal- 
ous in  studying  Christ  as  they  have  been  in  splitting 
hairs,  the  hosts  of  schisms  that  now  stare  at  us  wher- 
ever we  look,  could  not  have  been  possible.  But  in 
the  exciting  chase  after  scholastic  baubles,  our  leaders, 
like  those  in  the  times  of  Christ,  have  left  the  Com- 
mon People  to  wander  at  large,  the  prey  of  any  wolf 
in  sheep's  clothing  that  might  come  their  way.  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  the  Common  People  should  be- 
come dissatisfied  with  the  husks  of  theoretical  theology 
offered  them  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  turn  to  this 
and  that  humbug?  It  is  a  notorious  and  undenyable 


22  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

fact  that  owing  to  the  barrenness  of  our  current  ortho- 
doxy, Mormonism,  Spiritism,  Unitarianism,  Doweyism, 
Edyism,  and  many  minor  religious  aborptions,  (all 
put  forth  in  the  NAME  OF  CHRIST),  prosper  and 
grow,  whilst  the  self-styled  "Higher  Criticism*  is  lead- 
ing thousands  into  rank  infidelity? 

"IN  THY  NAME:* 

This  is  all  due  to  our  self-sufficient  orthodoxy  as 
taught  by  pulpit  and  press.  It  is  history  repeating 
itself.  It  is  the  same  old  sin  that  Christ  laid  to  the 
charge  of  the  orthodoxy  of  his  day,  to-wit,  neglecting 
the  SUBSTANCE  for  the  SHADOW.  Like  the  leaders 
of  that  day,  we  go  off  on  side  issues  and  emphasize 
non-essentials.  We  persue  fine  distinctions  and  petty 
technicalities.  We  build  grand  and  imposing  struc- 
tures for  the  rich,  (even  as  the  Jews  garnished  the 
tombs  of  the  prophets,)  and  leave  the  common  sinner 
to  shirk  for  himself,  and  the  heathen  to  his  own  de- 
vises. All  this  we  do  in  the  NAME  of  Christ,  as 
though  His  name  could  sanctify  our  sin! 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
is  a  passage  that  was  long  a  mystery  to  the  writer,  but 
in  view  of  the  above  it  becomes  plain: — 

"Many  will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  'Lord,  Lord, 
have  we  not  prophesied  IN  THY  NAME?  and  IN 
THY  NAME  cast  out  devils?  and  IN  THY  NAME 
done  many  wonderful  works?'  And  then  I  will  pro- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  23 

fess  unto  them   'I  never  knew  you;   depart  from  me 
ye  that  work  iniquity/  * 

Just  why  people  who  were  so  zealous  as  to  preach 
in  His  name,  cast  out  devils  in  His  name  and  do  many 
wonderful  works  in  His  name,  should  be  so  summarily 
dismissed,  is,  in  the  light  of  our  current  evangelism, 
something  of  a  puzzle.  To  begin  with,  it  is  evident 
that  the  people  thus  addressed  were  strong  believers, 
and  were  identified  with  the  church.  They  were  evi- 
dently of  those  who  could  say  "I  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity to  testify  for  the  Lord/*  Doubtless  they  imagin- 
ed that  they  were  "saved  through  and  through/'  as  the 
saying  goes. 

When,  therefore,  the  final  test  comes  and  they 
are  rejected,  they  naturally  become  amazed  beyond 
measure.  Thinking  there  must  be  some  mistake,  they 
commence  to  call  to  His  mind  the  works  they  have 
done  IN  HIS  NAME.  But  some  way  that  does  not 
seem  to  fill  the  bill.  He  looks  at  the  WORKS  them- 
selves, rather  than  at  the  NAME  in  which  they  are 
done.  For  instance,  what  did  they  * 'prophesy"  or 
preach?  That  is  a  more  important  question  than  the 
name  in  which  it  was  done.  As  before  stated,  every 
kind  of  a  humbug  is  being  preached  in  the  name  of 
Christ.  Money  making  schemes  that  can  be  given  a 
religious  cast,  is  connected  up  with  the  name  of  Christ, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  currency.  Every  kind 
of  iniquity — the  most  horrible  crimes  in  fact, — have 


24          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

been  committed  in  the  name  of  Christ.  But  this  fact 
only  makes  them  all  the  worse. 

Just  before  His  crucifixion,  Christ  gave  to  his 
disciples  a  description  of  the  judgment  of  the  last  day, 
in  which  he  contrasts  those  who  will  and  who  will  not 
be  then  accepted  by  Him.  The  saved  are  those  of 
whom  He  can  say,  "I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave 
me  meat;  I  was  thirsty  and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was 
a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in;  naked  and  ye  cloothed 
me;  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison  and 
ye  came  unto  me."  And  furthermore,  * 'Inasmuch  as 
ye  did  it  unto  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have 
done  it  unto  me.*'  These,  then,  are  the  terms  on  which 
any  are  to  be  admitted  to  his  kingdom,  and  those  of 
whom  these  things  cannot  be  said,  are  to  be  rejected. 

So  reads  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  be- 
ginning at  the  thirty-first  verse,  which  shows  how  the 
requirements  of  Christ  differ  from  the  theology  of 
those  who  imagine  that,  because  they  accept  His 
NAME  as  their  watch-word,  they  will  in  turn  be  ac- 
cepted by  Him.  He  Himself,  puts  it  in  a  nutshell  in 
the  following  words:  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto 
me,  'Lord,  Lord/  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven." 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  25 

TO  STUDY  CHRIST  AT  FIRST  HAND. 

In  view  of  these  facts  how  sadly  we  need  to 
KNOW  Christ!  And  so  far  as  we  ourselves  are  con- 
cerned, it  matters  but  little  whether  we  know  any  one 
else.  By  having  an  understanding  of  Him  and  His 
teaching,  we  are  sure  of  the  way  in  which  we  should 
walk.  When  we  go  to  the  Gospels  and  study  Him 
first  hand,  and  take  His  plain  and  simple  teachings 
to  walk  by,  then  will  come  to  pass  the  saying  found 
in  Jeremiah:  "And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every 
man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man  his  brother  saying, 
'know  ye  the  Lord,'  for  they  shall  know  me  from  the 
least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the 
Lord.** 

The  one  who  reads  the  Gospels  with  an  open 
mind,  cannot  miss  the  way.  It  is  there  made  so  plain 
that  the  simplest  will  understand,  and  it  is  the  main 
purpose  of  this  book  to  induce  the  reader  to  go  to  the 
Gospels  and  study  Christ  as  He  there  appears.  If  you 
do  this  you  cannot  but  notice  that  He  was  best  under- 
stood by  the  children  and  simple-minded  folk,  foi 
their  minds  were  not  burdened  with  so  many  tradi- 
tions nor  things  which  they  thought  they  knew.  As 
you  read  it  will  dawn  upon  you  what  Paul  means  when 
he  says,  "not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called;  but  God  has 
chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise.**  So  let  us  not  read  the  Gospels  with  precon- 
ceived notions.  The  best  way  is  to  read  them  with 


26          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

an  open  mind,  forgetting  so  far  as  possible,  all  no- 
tions we  have  ever  acquired  of  and  about  them,  being 
careful  above  all,  not  to  be  wise  in  our  own  conceits. 
Jesus  Himself  in  His  own  person,  is  the  solution  of  all 
theological  questions  worth  knowing.  He  is  the  em- 
bodyment  of  our  religion.  Except  He  is  the  objective 
point  of  all  our  spiritual  thought,  we  go  astray.  Even 
Apostolic  teach  is  valuable  to  us  only  so  far  as  it  helps 
us  along  this  way. 

We  must  never  forget  that  Jesus  set  forth  a  sure- 
enough  KINGDOM.  That  it  is  an  actual,  palpable, 
vital  thing.  That  He  alone  stands  at  its  head.  That 
the  subjects  of  this  kingdom  accord  Him  loyal  allegi- 
ance, no  matter  who  may  try  to  get  between  them  and 
Him.  That  it  is  with  Him  and  Him  ONLY  that  we 
have  to  do.  Not  with  the  Apostles,  nor  with  the  Fath- 
ers, nor  with  Preacher,  Priest  nor  Pope,  are  we  to 
deal,  but  with  Christ  only. 

In  the  Gospels  Christ  always  appears  in  the  fore- 
ground, an  imposing  figure,  brightly  and  boldly  out- 
lined against  the  dark  back-ground  of  Pharisaical  hy- 
pocracy.  How  clearly  He  stands  revealed  in  this  set- 
ting! A  consuming  desire  to  learn  more  of  this  out- 
line, as  well  as  of  and  from  the  miraculous  One  Who 
fills  it,  has  lead  to  this  study.  So  as  I  have  learned 
Christ,  so  as  I  have  been  able  to  see  Him,  I  shall  labor 
to  set  forth,  praying  that  my  ignorance  may  not  hinder 
others,  and  that  my  weakness  may  prove  the  power 
of  God. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  27 

CHRIST  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  more  one  studies  the  subject  the  more  one 
is  impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  is  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Himself — of  His  actual  Personality, — that  alone  can 
fill  the  measure  of  our  instruction  in  religion.  We 
talk  of  "doctrines,"  as  though  salvation  were  a  mere 
matter  of  general  principles,  independent  of  Christ. 
But  He,  Himself,  is  the  one  Great  Doctrine  that  em- 
bodies all  the  principles  that  can  serve  our  purpose. 
He,  in  His  own  proper  person  embraces  everything 
that  tends  to  lift  us  up  into  that  atmosphere  which  has 
in  it  the  elements  of  eternal  life.  No  doctrine  would 
have  any  meaning,  and  "Christianity**  would  be  a  mis- 
nomer without  Him.  As  it  now  stands,  it  is  merely  a 
system  of  religion  that  has  been  constructed  by 
churchmen.  Though  nominally  an  exponent  of  Christ, 
it  is  in  reality  an  expression  of  the  views  simply  of 
those  who  assume  to  speak  for  Him. 

Many  will  shy  at  the  name  of  Doctor  Lyman  Ab- 
bott, but  standing  before  the  World's  Congress  of  Re- 
ligions, facing  the  creeds  of  all  nations,  and  realizing 
that  the  need  of  the  world  was  Christ  seggregated  from 
all  isms,  he  rose  grandly  to  the  task  when  he  said,  "I 
do  not  stand  here  as  the  exponent,  the  apologist,  the 
defender  of  Christianity.  In  it  there  have  been  the 
blemishes  and  mars  of  human  handiwork.  It  has  been 
too  intellectual,  too  much  a  religion  of  creeds.  It  has 
been  too  fearful,  too  much  a  religion  of  sacrifices.  It 
has  been  too  selfishly  hopeful;  there  has  been  too 


28  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

much  of  a  desire  of  rewards  here  and  hereafter.  It 
has  been  too  little  a  religion  of  unselfish  service,  and 
unselfish  reverence.  No,  it  is  not  Christianity  we  want 
to  tell  our  brethren  across  the  sea  about,  it  is  the 
Christ.  *  *  *  We  have  found  the  Christ — and  we  do 
think  we  have  found  in  this  Christ,  in  His  patience, 
in  His  courage,  in  His  heroism,  in  His  self-sacrifice,  in 
His  unbounded  mercy  and  love,  an  ideal  that  tran- 
scends all  other  ideals  by  the  pen  of  poet,  painted  by 
the  brush  of  artist,  or  graved  in  the  life  of  human 
history." 

And  so  it  is  the  Christ  we  must  study,  and  not 
Peter,  James,  Paul  or  any  other  of  the  Apostles.  In 
more  ways  than  one  they  have  told  us  so  themselves. 
To  ponder  and  assimilate  what  He  said  and  why,  what 
He  did  and  why  and  the  innovations  He  introduced, 
and  why. 

TOPICALLY. 

The  plan  is  to  study  these  things  topically,  and 
not  as  is  the  wont,  historically.  This  does  not  pretend 
to  be  a  life  of  Christ.  The  writer  would  shrink 
from  undertaking  such  a  task.  Others  may  think  they 
are  able  to  acquit  themselves  with  credit,  in  under- 
taking such  a  work,  but  the  writer  makes  no  such  pre- 
tentions.  No,  it  is  not  a  life,  but  simply  a  study.  The 
plan  involves  consideration  by  topics  instead  of  tak- 
ing account  of  events.  This  will  necessarily  lead  us 
us  backward  and  forward  as  the  thought  under  ad- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  29 

vice  may  from  time  to  time  appear.  We  will  be  less 
likely  to  go  astray  by  this  method,  for  we  will  always 
be  in  touch  with  the  point  considered  until  we  are  done 
with  it.  It  will  always  be  before  us  and  help  us  to 
keep  in  the  straight  and  narrow  way  that  all  thought 
must  travel  that  ends  in  a  logical  conclusion.  The 
idea  is  to  do  this  with  special  reference  to  crcuial 
epochs  of  His  ministry,  and  the  standards  He  erected 
for  our  guidance.  In  order  to  do  this  with  success,  all 
preconceived  notions  we  may  have  acquired,  must  be 
deferred.  One  great  mistake  of  the  Jews  was  that 
they  were  not  willing  to  do  this.  But  whoever  would 
be  Christ's  disciple  must  come  to  Him  with  that  simple 
and  abject  surrender  that  marked  Paul's  answer  when 
stricken  down  and  hailed  by  Christ  when  on  his  way 
to  Damascus. 

MAN  IN  THE  SUPERLATIVE. 

One  thing  that  we  must  first  learn  is  that  the  per- 
sonality of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is,  in  every  way,  absolute- 
ly normal.  Were  such  a  personality  universal  with 
the  human  family  as  a  whole,  universal  peace  and 
prosperity  would  result  as  surely  as  effect  follows 
cause.  If  you  will  sit  down  and  count  up  the  good 
that  would  follow  in  such  a  case,  as  well  as  the  evils 
that  would  naturally  disappear,  at  last  you  will  find 
yourself  praying,  "Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be 
done,  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."  The  human  family 
has  always  had  trouble  because  it  has  always  been  ab- 


30 


THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 


normal.  In  other  words,  it  is  not  as  it  should  be.  But 
if  each  one  would  take  on  a  normal  personality,  as- 
suming the  characteristics  of  Christ,  all  our  problems 
would  be  automatically  solved. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  Man  in  the  Superlative. 
Whilst  other  men  have  been  great  in  special  lines,  He 
was  supreme  in  all  things  that  make  men  and  women 
that  which  they  should  be  in  order  to  be  happy.  To 
make  this  out  it  is  not  necessary  to  claim  that  He 
was  a  military  genius,  for  the  whole  subject  of  war  is 
abnormal,  and  can  exist  only  while  the  human  family 
is  abnormal.  All  such  men  as  Caesar  and  Napoleon 
are  abnormal,  whose  greatness  was  the  greatness  of 
Satan. 

But  the  completeness  and  perfection  of  the  work 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  providing  as  it  does  for  every 
need  of  humanity,  demonstrates  that  He  was  supreme- 
ly great  in  everything  that  goes  to  make  genuine  great- 
ness. His  was  the  universal  and  perfectly  balanced 
nature.  He  seems  to  have  been  endowed  with  a  re- 
serve force  that  could  not  be  exhausted.  We  know  that 
He  had  a  mental  reach  that  never  fell  short,  and  a 
moral  virility  that  was  invincible. 

PHILOSOPHIC  PRESUMPTION. 

One  of  the  titles  by  which  He  is  known,  is  "The 
Son  of  God."  As  to  the  exact  meaning  of  this,  no 
human  can  possibly  know.  And  yet  men  of 
philosophic  turn  of  mind  have  sought  to  peer  into  the 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  31 

inscrutable  mysteries  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  ascer- 
tain the  unknowable  with  the  regard  to  the  relation- 
ship of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  The  con- 
troversy this  engenders  is  a  towering  monument  to 
human  folly.  The  dispute  is  infinitely  above  our 
reach.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  a  phrase  used 
to  denote  an  earthly  relationship  has  been  employed  to 
describe  that  of  the  divine.  Although  it  is  possible 
that  it  may  not  exactly  and  fully  describe  the  relation- 
ship, it  is  probably  as  near  it  as  we  will  ever  get  by 
our  philosophy.  The  sensible  way  is  to  simply  accept 
the  designations  given  by  Christ,  and  not  try  to  rend 
the  vail  through  which  no  man  can  pierce  and  live. 
Christ  Himself  has  given  us  the  earthly  father  and  son 
as  the  nearest  symbol  of  His  relationship  to  the  heaven- 
ly Father,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  we  are  not  required 
to  know  more  about  it  than  He  has  told  us.  The 
sinful  woman  who  washed  the  feet  of  Jesus 
with  her  tears  and  wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head,  what  did  she  know  about  such  questions?  And 
yet  He  said  to  her,  "Thy  sins  are  forgiven,  go  inpeace." 
What  more  can  He  say  to  any  of  us?  Would  that  the 
self-sufficient  ones  who  trouble  the  world  with  such  un- 
solvable  riddles,  had  the  wisdom  of  this  poor  woman! 

BORN  OF  US. 

Our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ  was  conceived 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  and  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  This 
is  the  record  as  it  is  plainly  set  forth.  Those  who 


32  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

have  any  doubts  on  the  subject,  should  never  enter  a 
Gospel  pulpit.  Furthermore,  those  who  occupy  such 
a  place,  and  are  seized  with  any  misgivings  as  to  the 
reality  of  this  fact,  should  at  once  step  down.  They 
cannot  be  considered  as  honest  men  except  they  do. 
If  they  still  wish  to  be  heard,  let  them  "hire  a  hall," 
and  preach  their  views  solely  at  the  expense  of  those 
who  agree  with  them  on  this  point.  Not  only  com- 
mon honesty,  but  common  decency  as  well  would 
seem  to  suggest  this  course. 

BAPTISED  FOR  US. 

As  to  Christ's  baptism,  the  combined  accounts 
of  the  Evangelists  is  as  follows:  "Now  when  all  the 
people  were  baptised,  then  cometh  Jesus  in  those  days 
from  Nazareth  of  Gallilee  to  Jordan  unto  John  to  be 
baptised  of  him.  But  John  forbade  Him,  saying,  I 
have  need  to  be  baptised  of  Thee,  and  comest  Thou 
to  me?  And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him,  'suffer  it 
to  be  so  now,  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfill  all 
righteousness.'  Then  he  suffered  Him.  And  it  came 
to  pass  that  as  Jesus  also  being  baptised  of  John  in 
Jordan,  went  up  straightway  out  of  the  water;  and 
praying,  lo,  He  saw  the  heaven  open  unto  Him,  and 
the  Spirit  of  God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  descending  in  a 
bodily  shape  like  a  dove  and  lighting  upon  Him.  And 
lo,  there  was  a  voice  from  heaven  saying,  *Thou  art 
my  beloved  Son;  in  Thee  I  am  well  pleased/  And 
Jesus  Himself  began  to  be  about  thirty  years  of  age." 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  33 

Continuing  the  divine  account  we  have:  "And 
Jesus  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  returned  from  Jor- 
dan, and  immediately  was  lead  up  of  the  Spirit  into 
the  Wilderness  to  be  tempted  by  the  devil;  the  Spirit 
driveth  Him  into  the  Wilderness.  And  He  was  there 
in  the  Wilderness  forty  days,  being  forty  days  tempted 
of  the  devil.  And  He  was  with  the  wild  beasts.  And 
when  He  had  fasted  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  (and 
in  those  days  He  did  eat  nothing,)  He  was  after- 
ward an  hungered/* 

Thus  was  Jesus  inducted  into  His  office  and  began 
His  work.  From  this  time  on,  things  happened  quite 
fast;  for  though  there  is  in  His  short  career  what  is 
called  "the  year  of  silence,*'  yet  this  was  also  big  with 
activity,  as  will  be  hereinafter  explained. 

TEMPTED  FOR  US. 

To  me  the  most  remarkable  statement  in  the 
language  above  quoted,  is  the  concluding  portion 
thereof.  It  is  that  after  His  forty  days'  fast,  "He  was 
an  hungered.**  In  and  of  itself  there  is  of  course,  noth- 
ing to  wonder  about  hunger  after  a  forty  days*  fast. 
But  the  implication  is  that  hunger  did  not  come  to 
Him  during  the  fast,  but  afterward.  As  to  why  this 
was  so,  I  do  not  know  and  dare  not  say.  There  was 
evidently  something  there  greater  than  hunger,  for 
hunger  was  overcome  by  it.  We  know  that  mental 
conditions  of  a  certain  kind  will  overcome  that  desire 
for  food  that  is  called  "hunger.**  But  who  shall  say 


34          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

in  this  case?  All  that  we  can  surmise  is  that  Jesus 
being  alone  in  the  Wilderness,  with  no  company  but 
the  devil  and  the  wild  beasts,  for  the  space  of  forty 
days  and  nights  transacted  a  business  that  was  so 
urgent  as  to  do  away  with  the  idea  of  physical  sus- 
tenance. It  drove  all  hunger  from  His  thought.  The 
issues  then  and  there  forced  upon  Him,  must  then 
and  there  be  decided.  As  to  what  it  was,  or  as  to 
the  details  of  it,  we  are  not  informed. 

But  it  is  apparent  that  the  ordeal  was  success- 
fully passed,  for  we  are  told  by  Matthew  that  after 
the  forty  days  had  passed,  "He  was  afterward  an 
hungered,  "  as  also  testifies  Luke.  Thus,  after  nature 
had  been  suspended  for  forty  days  by  the  superior 
urgency  of  the  occasion,  nature  again  asserted  itself, 
and  He  became  hungry  for  food.  Indeed  we  might 
suppose  that  by  this  time  He  had  reached  the  limit 
of  physical  endurance,  and  to  be  on  the  border-land 
of  dissolution.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  the  preliminary 
skirmish  of  that  prolonged  battle  that  culminated  on 
the  Cross,  had  been  fought  and  won. 

THE  TEMPTATION  AN  INDEX  AND  A  TESTING. 

Now  begins  that  other  struggle  of  which  we  have 
an  outline  and  which  is  generally  meant  when  we 
speak  of  the  temptation.  I  take  it  that  the  main  de- 
tails of  this  fight  are  given  to  us  because  of  its  bearing 
on  His  future  work.  It  was  an  epitome  and  a  prophe- 
cy of  the  trials  which  were  to  follow.  It  was  a  con- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  35 

test  that  must  be  made,  not  as  some  suppose,  simply  to 
bring  Him  to  His  best,  but  to  also  clearly  and  unmis- 
takably define  the  issues  on  which  the  campaign  for 
the  establishment  of  His  kingdom  was  to  be  fought. 
Here  in  the  deep  obscurity  of  the  desolate  Judean 
Wilderness,  not  only  did  he  qualify  for  His  work  and 
get  His  anointing  for  it, — the  anointing  of  untellable 
suffering  and  temptation, — but  also  He  got  the  INDEX 
of  that  work,  the  final  chapter  of  which  was  to  be  writ- 
ten in  His  own  blood. 

Whilst  I  contend  that  there  was  something  more 
vital  in  this  event  than  to  regard  it  as  an  ordeal  in- 
tended to  qualify  Him  for  His  work,  still  it  naturally 
had  the  effect  indicated  by  that  supposition.  Indeed 
there  is  a  great  doctrine  in  the  experience  Christ  had 
at  this  time.  He  must  be  * 'touched  with  a  feeling 
of  our  infirmity,"  and  be  * 'tempted  that  he  may  suc- 
cor them  that  are  tempted/*  By  this  struggle  He  arm- 
ed Himself  for  other  struggles.  The  secret  of  this 
became  apparent  at  once,  for  we  are  told  that  "He 
returned  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  into  Gallilee,  and 
there  went  out  a  fame  of  Him  through  all  the  regions 
round  about,  and  he  taught  in  their  synagogues,  be- 
ing glorified  of  all." 

He  was  no  longer  the  carpenter's  son.  He  had 
suffered,  He  had  battled,  He  had  won.  He  was  now 
a  conquering  hero,  attended  and  attested  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Himself.  Those  who  had  known  Him  thereto- 
fore "all  bore  Him  witness  and  wondered  at  the 


36  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

gracious  words  which  proceeded  from  His  mouth." 
They  had  never  before  suspected  His  real  character, 
and  were  astonished  at  His  seeming  transformation.  It 
greatly  increased  their  wonder  that  His  parents  and 
brethren  and  sisters  were  their  neighbors,  for  "a 
prophet  is  without  honor  in  his  own  country." 

But  such  are  the  fruits  of  suffering  bravely  en- 
dured and  of  temptations  overcome.  Such  ordeals 
bring  to  the  surface  the  best,  the  brightest,  the  grand- 
est there  is  in  us.  Since  then  many  another  has  come 
from  his  Wilderness  exulting  in  victory,  and  exhibit- 
ing qualities  that  have  puzzled  the  world. 

But  in  the  case  of  Christ,  His  neighbors  were 
more  than  puzzled.  Their  admiration  was  finally  turn- 
ed to  envy,  and  under  His  scathing  strictures,  their 
envy  at  last  turned  to  hatred.  They  became  "offend- 
ed," and  seemed  to  think  it  preposterous  that  such  a 
change  should  have  come  over  Him  without  their 
having  had  something  to  do  with  it.  Like  many  others 
have  done  since,  they  then  rose  up  and  thrust  Him 
out  of  their  synagogue. 

But  returning  to  the  temptation,  let  it  be  noted 
that  the  part  of  it  that  is  described  to  us  very  clearly 
presents  an  outline  that  defines  the  issues  which  were 
at  stake  in  the  struggle  He  was  thereafter  to  engage 
in.  It  shows  the  lines  along  which  the  conflict  after- 
ward preceded.  It  thus  determines  the  principles  on 
which  His  kingdom  is  to  be  founded.  By  making  a 
study  of  it,  therefore,  we  become  the  better  prepared 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  37 

to  understand  the  work  He  afterward  performed.  The 
Wilderness,  the  mount  of  Transfiguration  and  Gethse- 
mine,  were  all  stepping  stones  to  the  Cross.  With  all 
their  mysteries,  they  all,  nevertheless,  cast  a  light, 
each  peculiar  to  itself,  on  the  dark  tragedy  of  Calvary. 
What  a  scene  is  here!  It  affords  room  for  the 
imagination  to  give  full  swing  to  fancy  and  yet  fail  to 
reconstruct  the  subtle  devices,  arts  and  beguilments 
practiced  by  Satan  on  this  lone  and  now  starving 
young  man.  Every  strategy  is  brought  to  bear  that 
can  tend  to  deplete  His  physical  strength,  weaken  His 
mental  virility  or  undermine  His  faith  in  God.  As  the 
strain  must  come  on  His  human  powers,  they  are  re- 
duced to  the  lowest  possible  ebb  before  the  final  as- 
sault is  made  that  is  to  determine  whether  or  not  He 
is  to  be  the  world's  Messiah.  This  situation  comes 
to  us  freighted  with  special  interest  because  of  the 
fact,  as  herein  before  intimated,  it  forms  a  key  that 
unlocks  the  future  by  foreshadowing  the  career  that 
was  to  follow. 

A  FRIENDLY  SUGGESTION. 

The  temptations  of  Satan  usually  come  to  us  in 
the  nature  of  suggestions  that  run  parallel  with  our 
own  thought.  This  has  the  advantage  of  an  appear- 
ance of  it  having  originated  with  ourselves.  As  far 
as  possible  these  suggestions  are  thus  made  to  harmon- 
ize with  our  own  inclinations.  There  is  of  course,  a 
slight  trend  in  the  wrong  direction.  But  no  matter 


38          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

how  small  the  angle  may  be,  it  will,  if  not  rejected, 
finally  serve  his  purpose,  which  is  always  to  lead  us 
away  from  the  course  we  should  go.  The  insignifi- 
cance of  the  wrong  trend  serves  to  conceal  the  pur- 
pose of  the  suggestion. 

This  was  peculiarly  the  case  with  the  first  record- 
ed temptation  of  Jesus.  After  a  forty-day  fast  the 
thought  of  bread  must  needs  be  urgent.  It  was  the 
one  thing  of  all  others  of  which  He  would  seem  to 
have  need.  It  looks  as  though  it  must  have  obscured 
all  other  things,  and  that  any  suggestion  as  to  the 
manner  of  its  being  supplied,  must  receive  immediate 
attention.  That  is,  it  would  from  our  point  of  view. 

And  from  our  point  of  view  the  suggestion  of 
Satan  bears  the  appearance  of  friendly  advice  as  to 
the  way  Jesus  might  supply  His  pressing  need.  "If 
Thou  be  the  Son  of  God,"  argues  Satan,  "command 
that  these  stones  be  made  bread."  His  full  thought 
seems  to  have  been  about  as  follows:  "As  the  Son 
of  God  Thou  hast  a  kingdom  to  set  up.  Thou  art 
burdened  with  the  task  of  redeeming  the  world.  Why, 
therefore,  should  You  perish  here  in  this  desert,  and 
let  this  great  mission  go  by  default?"  As  the  Son 
of  God,  Christ  had  a  right  to  command  and  it  should 
be  done.  Humanly  speaking  He  was  where  no  help 
could  reach  Him.  He  could  save  Himself  and  thereby 
save  others  only  by  a  miracle.  At  that  time,  because 
of  the  long  fast  and  the  added  burden  of  torment  He 
had  undergone,  Jesus  must  have  been  on  the  very 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  39 

verge  of  dissolution.  Every  human  sense  would  seem 
to  second  the  suggestion  that  the  stones  be  turned  into 
bread,  provided,  of  course  He  had  the  power  to  per- 
form the  miracle. 

"IT  IS  WRITTEN." 

And  in  the  answer  of  Jesus  there  is  no  hint  of  a 
sin  being  involved  in  this.  "It  is  written,*'  He  says, 
"Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every 
word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God."  This 
goes  solely  to  the  necessities  of  the  case.  Why  should 
He  turn  the  stones  to  bread  when  it  was  not  needed, 
and  He  could  live  without  it?  It  was  not  necessary 
to  perform  this  miracle,  and  therefore  He  would  not. 
But  there  are  two  constructions  that  might  be  placed 
on  this  answer.  One  is  that  He  could  live  without 
bread  or  any  other  sustenance  than  that  which  God 
supplies  without  effort  on  His  part.  This  rendering 
seems  technical.  In  fact  it  suggests  a  greater  miracle, 
if  possible,  than  that  of  turning  stones  to  bread.  As 
He  told  His  disciples  at  Jacob's  well,  He  had  meat  to 
eat  they  knew  not  of. 

WHAT  TO  SEEK  FIRST. 

The  other  construction  on  His  language  is  that  so 
long  as  He  did  the  well  of  God  He  could  rely  on  be- 
ing taken  care  of.  And  this  had  its  confirmation  in 
the  after  ministrations  of  the  angels.  An  echo  of  this 
occurrance  may  be  found  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


40  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

It  is  in  the  following  and  similar  language:  'There- 
fore take  no  thought  saying,  'What  shall  we  eat?  or 
what  shall  we  drink?  or  wherewith  shall  we  be 
clothed?  (for  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles 
seek.)  For  your  heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye 
have  need  of  these  things.  But  seek  ye  first  THE 
KINGDOM  OF  GOD,  and  His  righteousness,  and  all 
these  things  shall  be  ADDED  unto  you/  *  This  doc- 
trine was  thus  exemplified  in  His  own  case  at  the  very 
beginning  of  His  work.  And  it  was  not  applied  to 
Him  alone.  His  quotation  carries  out  no  such  idea. 
"MAN  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,*'  it  says. 

THE  GREATEST  OF  ALL  LAWS. 

The  greatest  of  all  laws  is  the  Law  of  Redemp- 
tion. Under  that  law  the  Redeemer  stands  in  the 
place  of  the  redeemed.  He  suffers,  the  just  for  the 
unjust.  He  expiates  their  sins  by  bearing  them  as 
though  they  were  His  own.  Why  this  should  be  no 
mortal  may  know,  but  nothing  is  more  clearly  empha- 
sized in  Holy  Writ.  With  us  self  preservation  is  the 
first  law  of  nature,  but  with  Him  it  was  the  LAST.  We 
may  save  ourselves,  but  NOT  SO  with  Him.  His  only 
privilege  is  to  save  OTHERS.  For  this  express  pur- 
pose He  came  into  the  world.  They  who  railed 
around  His  cross  spoke  wiser  than  they  knew,  when 
they  lashed  Him  with  the  words,  "Others  He  saved, 
Himself  He  cannot  save."  For  under  the  Law  of 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  41 

Redemption,  if  He  saved  HIMSELF,  OTHERS  He 
could  not  save. 

But  the  seemingly  friendly  suggestion  of  Satan 
involved  a  covert  violation  of  this  law  which  He  came 
to  fulfill.  It  was  in  effect  that  Jesus  should  begin  the 
work  of  redemption  first,  by  renouncing  His  faith  in 
God,  and  second  by  attending  first  to  His  own  wants. 
True  He  could  have  turned  the  stones  to  bread,  even 
as  He  afterward  multiplied  the  loaves  and  fishes.  But 
as  the  stones  by  the  wayside  on  His  triumphal  entry 
into  Jerusalem  would  have  cried  out  had  the  people 
held  their  peace,  so  the  stones  of  the  Wilderness 
would  have  turned  themselves  to  bread  at  His  need. 
Miracles  are  wrought  to  supply  a  need,  and  it  then 
looked  as  as  though  the  world  would  go  without  His 
very  much  needed  redemption  without  a  miracle  were 
performed.  But  He  was  in  perfect  unity  and  accord 
with  the  Father,  and  therefore  He  had  no  need,  and 
would  survive  for  the  performance  of  redemption 
without  turning  these  stones  to  bread. 

He  was  a  miracle  Himself,  and  the  greatest  of 
them  all.  He  could  live  on  the  WORD  of  God  alone, 
without  the  ministration  of  any  other  miracle.  In 
Matthew  He  says:  "The  Son  came  not  to  be  min- 
istered unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ran- 
some  for  many."  To  the  sinful  woman  at  the  well 
He  said,  "Give  Me  to  drink,*'  but  it  was  that  He  might 
give  to  her  and  others  of  that  city,  the  waters  of  life. 
In  reply  to  her  answer  He  said,  "If  thou  knewest  the 


42          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

gift  of  God,  and  Who  it  is  that  saith  unto  thee,  'Give 
Me  to  drink,'  thou  wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and 
He  would  have  given  thee  living  water." 

He  invited  "Himself  to  dine  with  Zacheus  but  it 
was  only  that  He  might  bring  salvation  to  that  house. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  but  one  case  recorded  in 
which  Jesus  asked  to  be  ministered  to,  and  that  was 
after  "all  things  had  been  accomplished,"  and  "that 
the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled."  It  was  in  the  closing 
moments  on  the  cross,  and  under  conditions  which 
we  cannot  comprehend.  This  is  the  language  of  the 
text:  " After  this,  Jesus  knowing  that  all  things  were 
accomplished,  that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled, 
saith,  'I  thirst/  and  after  He  had  received  the  vinegar 
that  was  then  administered  to  Him,  he  said,  'It  is  fin- 
ished.' '  (The  reference  to  scriptural  fulfillment  is 
to  verse  twenty-one  of  the  sixty-ninth  Psalm.) 

I  cannot  but  pause  here  in  this  discussion  to  note 
that  this  was  the  supreme  moment  of  the  ages.  It  was 
the  single  instant  to  which  all  the  prophets  had  pointed 
as  celebrating  the  redemption  of  our  race.  It  is  today 
the  one  hinge  on  which  swings  the  one  door  of  our 
opportunity.  But  for  this  triumphant  "IT  IS  FIN- 
ISHED," we  would  be  barred  from  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven!  We  would  be  in  "outer  darkness,"  with  no 
ray  of  hope  shining  through  the  universal  gloom.  So 
far  as  we  know,  the  whole  human  race  would  have 
been  irretrievably  lost.  What  other  recourse  infinite 
wisdom  and  love  had  in  store,  does  not  appear;  but 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  43 

the  glorious  fact  that  Christ  finally  "finished"  His 
•work,  leaves  all  such  questioning  unnecessary.  It  is 
enough  for  us  to  know  that  now  by  His  FINISHED 
REDEMPTION,  Christ  has  thus  placed  every  derelict 
of  us  in  reach  of  a  sure  haven. 

By  ylielding  to  this  particular  temptation,  Christ 
would  have  begun  His  work  of  redemption  by  violat- 
ing the  very  law  under  which  it  must  be  accomplished. 
It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  had  He  yielded,  His 
triumphant  "IT  IS  FINISHED/'  would  never  have 
been  uttered.  But  the  Law  of  Redumption  was  sus- 
tained, and  his  commission  to  carry  it  into  effect  was 
thus  far  written. 

A  CHALLENGE  FOR  A  "SIGN." 

But  there  are  two  other  points  to  be  decided. 
The  first  one  involves  the  manner  of  the  propagation 
of  His  kingdom,  and  herein  of  the  character  of  that 
kingdom.  Heretofore  Satan  has  been  very  modest, 
but  now  he  makes  a  frontal  attack.  It  comes  as  a 
challenge,  and  involves  another  great  law  of  re- 
demption. And  this  time  he  has  some  scripture  with 
which  to  support  his  contention.  This  is  the  account 
given  in  Matthew:  "Then  the  devil  taketh  Him  into 
the  holy  city,  and  sitteth  Him  on  a  pinacle  of  the  tem- 
ple. And  saith  unto  Him,  'If  Thou  be  the  Son  of 
God,  cast  Thyself  down;'  for  it  is  written  'He  shall 
give  His  angels  charge  concerning  Thee,  and  in  their 


44  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

hands  they  shall  bear  Thee  up,  lest  at  any  time  Thou 
dash  Thy  foot  against  a  stone/  ' 

There  are  really  two  "ifs"  in  this:  one  expressed 
and  the  other  implied.  "IF  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God, 
and  IF  the  scriptures  be  true,  You  will  be  safe  in 
making  the  adventure.  Dare  you  put  the  issue  to  a 
test?  Dare  You  take  the  chances  for  the  purpose  of 
assuring  Yourself  that  both  these  *lfs  will  resolve 
themselves  in  Your  favor?*'  This  it  will  be  seen  was 
a  challenge  to  submit  to  a  test  of  His  messiahship  in 
the  way  of  a  SIGN. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  situation  as  it  must  have 
presented  itself  at  that  time:  The  exercise  of  con- 
scious power  is  an  instinct  of  human  nature,  and  es- 
pecially strong  when  challenged  as  in  the  present  in- 
stance. And  we  must  suppose  that  Jesus  was  not  an 
exception  to  this  general  rule.  He  was  a  man  with 
a  man's  inclinations.  He  was  as  subject  to  tempta- 
tion as  any  of  us.  The  vital  difference,  however,  was 
that  we  often  yield,  He  NEVER.  The  appeal  to 
scripture,  however,  was  cunningly  calculated  to  lead 
Him  astray.  It  was  quoted  as  an  authority  which  was 
recognized  by  Christ  Himself,  and  it  seemed  to  war- 
rant a  trial  of  the  experiment. 

And  aside  from  the  scripture  quoted,  there  were 
many  illustrations  of  the  text  that  could  have  been, 
and  doubtless  were  urged  in  its  support.  There  were, 
for  instance,  the  example  of  Gideon  and  even  of 
Moses.  They  had  both  sought  and  received  from 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  45 

God  testimonials  of  their  call  to  do  His  work.  Why 
then  should  not  Jesus,  like  them,  put  God  to  the  test 
and  thus  be  sure  of  Himself  before  going  further?  In 
other  words  why  not  have  a  SIGN  for  Himself,  and 
also  why  not  furnish  a  SIGN  to  others?  Reduced  to 
its  lowest  terms  this  was  exact  proposition.  For  if  He 
thus  sought  a  SIGN  for  Himself,  how  could  He  deny 
that  privilege  to  others? 

Truly  did  Jesus  say  to  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
that  they  were  of  their  father  the  devil,  for  they  met 
Him  with  exactly  the  same  temptation  that  was  thus 
proposed  by  Satan.  It  seems  to  have  been  with  them 
a  favorite  amusement  to  follow  Him  around  and  ask 
for  "a  sign."  No  matter  how  many  sick  He  healed 
nor  that  He  even  raised  the  dead  to  life,  they  ignored 
all  such  things,  and  demanded  what  they  called  "A 
SIGN."  The  central  thought  of  this  request  was  for 
Christ  to  exert  His  power  to  show  His  power. 

In  one  form  or  another  this  temptation  was  the 
one  with  which  He  was  thereafter  perhaps  most  fre- 
quently assailed.  How  often  was  He  surrounded  by 
throngs  of  His  curious  and  expectant  countrymen,  who 
were  constantly  appointing  for  Him  signs  of  His  mes- 
siahship!  And  as  corresponding  to  this  scene  on  the 
pinacle  of  the  temple,  it  is  a  curious  coincidence  that 
on  His  first  appearance  thereafter  in  His  own  city  of 
Nazareth,  they  dragged  Him  to  the  precipice  on 
which  the  town  was  built,  with  the  purpose  to  throw 
Him  over.  As  He  looked  down  on  the  rocks  below, 


46          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

this  incident  on  the  pinacle  of  the  temple  must  have 
come  to  Him  and  the  temptation  with  it.  You  can 
make  sure  that  Satan  was  again  on  hand  with  some- 
thing like  the  following  suggestion:  "Now  is  Your 
chance  to  convince  them.  Suffer  them  to  cast  Thee 
down,  and  as  the  angels  will  bear  Thee  up  in  their 
arms,  no  harm  can  befall  Thee,  and  they  will  at  once 
hail  Thee  as  the  Son  of  God."  Knowing  how  people 
are  over-awed  by  exhibitions  of  physical  force,  how 
strong  must  have  been  the  impulse  to  comply  with 
these  suggestions!  Besides  it  could  be  urged  that  in 
this  instance  the  exhibition  would  not  be  merely  idle, 
but  would  bear  immediate  fruit  by  bringing  to  His 
side,  not  only  His  demented  neighbors,  but  every 
politician  in  the  land.  And  true  it  is  that  He  actually 
gave  signs  in  abundance,  but  they  were  not  of  the 
kind  they  looked  for.  What  they  expected  and  in- 
sisted upon,  were  of  the  kind  suggested  by  Satan  in 
this  temptation.  They  looked  for  an  earthly  king- 
dom, and  wanted  something  to  show  His  ability  as  the 
Messiah,  to  cope  with  the  power  of  Rome,  and  make 
Jerusalem  the  world's  metropolis. 

THE  POINT  OF  VIEW. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  may  seem  surprising 
that  I  should  concede  for  the  Jews  that  they  were 
right  from  their  standpoint.  But  it  must  be  admitted 
that  conceding  their  claim  that  the  kingdom  of  the 
Christ  was  to  be  a  political  kingdom  like  that  of  Cae- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  47 

sar,  there  was  good  reason  for  their  asking  for  a  sign, 
or  a  demonstration  of  physical  force.  The  difference 
was  of  view-point  only.  As  they  understood  it,  Mes- 
siah when  He  should  come,  would  re-establish  the 
literal  throne  of  David.  As  even  some  of  His  dis- 
ciples put  it  after  His  crucifixion,  "should  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel."  And  let  it  be  remembered  that 
under  that  kingdom,  God  had  on  Mount  Carmel  dem- 
onstrated in  an  answer  by  fire,  that  He  and  not  Baal 
was  God.  Why  then,  should  not  the  Messiah  demon- 
strate in  like  manner?  He  too  could  call  down  fire, 
even  as  some  of  his  dispciples  afterward  besought 
Him.  He  could  rend  the  heavens,  and  shake  the 
earth  with  His  thunderbolts.  He  could  call  and  His 
twelve  legions  of  angels  would  stand  in  array.  In 
such  a  case  every  scribe  and  Pharisee,  every  Saducee 
with  all  the  people  would  instantly  hail  Him  as  king. 
And  as  they  thought  of  Christ  in  a  political  sense  only, 
this  naturally  seemed  to  them  the  correct  thing  to  do. 
No  doubt  they  thouught  it  very  unreasonable  of 
Him  to  talk  to  them  as  He  did.  They  did  not  want 
a  Messiah  so  much  for  healing  as  for  killing  and  de- 
stroying, after  the  manner  of  the  Romans.  Rome 
could  not  be  humbled  by  merely  making  the  deaf  to 
hear,  the  lame  to  walk  and  the  blind  to  see.  The 
cleansing  of  lepers  and  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the 
poor,  would  never  overcome  the  legions  of  Caesar. 
These  things  might  do  as  side  issues,  and  would  un- 
doubtedly please  the  unfortunate,  but  how  could  He 


48  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

except  to  vanquish  the  armies  of  the  Gentiles  by  such 
methods  alone?  These  things  were  well  enough  in 
their  proper  places,  but  never,  no  NEVER  could  they 
force  the  world  to  bow  to  Israel! 

A  FALSE  ISSUE. 

This  was  their  point  of  view,  and  on  this  ground 
v/as  where  Christ  and  the  Jews  came  to  the  parting  of 
the  ways.  This  was  the  issue  involved,  not  only  in 
this  temptation,  but  also  in  the  one  to  follow.  This 
temptation  clearly  implies  that  physical  force  is  a 
necessary  factor  in  building  up  His  kingdom,  and  the 
final  one  proceeds  on  the  theory  that  His  kingdom  is 
of  this  world.  But  His  kingdom,  as  He  afterward 
told  Pilate,  not  being  of  this  world,  physical  force,  and 
herein  of  * 'signs,"  had  not  then,  and  do  not  now,  have 
any  place  in  it.  The  exercise  of  force  by  way  of  re- 
straint, for  instance,  would  be  a  violation  of  a  funda- 
mental law  of  that  kingdom,  for  no  member  of  it 
shall  ever  be  coerced.  Absolute  and  unqualified  "per- 
sonal liberty"  was  and  is  assured  to  all  who  enter 
there. 

We  have  considered  the  stand-point  of  the  Jews, 
and  now  let  us  consider  the  stand-point  of  Christ:  He 
knew  that  to  follow  this  suuggestion  of  Satan  and  the 
Jews,  would  be  to  tempt  God.  This  would  neces- 
sarily result  from  the  implication  that  possibly  God 
could  not  or  would  not  fulfill  His  promises.  This 
was  the  unmistakable  issue  raised  by  Satan  and  after- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  49 

wards  seconded  by  the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  And 
aside  from  its  other  bad  features  it  was  a  false  issue, 
because  founded  on  the  false  assumption  that  Christ 
had  to  do  with  a  political  rather  than  a  spiritual  king- 
dom. 

But  Satan  and  the  Jews  are  not  the  only  ones  to 
raise  this  false  issue.  Even  to  this  day  some  there  are 
who  argue  for  "signs  and  wonders'*  of  a  physical 
nature.  It  is  claimed  that  they  would  convince  the 
unbelieving  and  stop  the  mouths  of  the  gainsaying. 
Let  us  see  how  that  would  work:  In  the  first  place 
how  did  it  work  out  in  the  trial  on  mount  Carmel?  It 
might,  and  doubtless  did,  have  some  effect  in  preserv- 
ing certain  features  of  the  Theocracy,  and  in  thus 
transmitting  the  Law  until  the  coming  of  Christ,  for  it 
occurred  under  a  worldy  kingdom.  Nevertheless, 
there  is  not  the  least  evidence  that  it  worked  any  moral 
or  spiritual  change  for  the  better  in  any  one.  No 
sooner  was  it  over  with  than  the  prophet  through 
whom  the  test  was  made,  was  a  fugitive  from  the  fury 
of  the  angry  Jezabel.  So  far  as  the  record  of  it  goes, 
it  shows  that  this  display  of  divine  power  actually  had 
a  bad  effect  on  all  concerned  in  it.  The  prophet  him- 
self was  at  once  seized  with  a  kind  of  frenzy,  under 
the  influence  of  which  he  slew  the  prophets  of  Baal. 
Then,  instead  of  remaining  to  press  home  the  lesson 
taught  by  it,  he  fled  like  a  culprit.  He  had  not  the 
faith  to  trust  to  God  for  protection,  but  at  once  be- 
came "a  fugitive  from  justice"  in  the  wilderness. 


50  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

Here  as  a  seeming  excuse  for  his  flight,  he  protested 
to  the  Lord  that  he  alone  remained  true.  This  of  it- 
self was  a  confession  that  this  noted  test  or  "sign** 
had  failed  to  reform  the  people  or  rulers. 

THE  "STILL,  SMALL  VOICE/* 

To  show  the  actual  moral  effect  of  such  tests  or 
signs  suggested  by  Satan  and  seconded  by  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  let  us  follow  the  prophet  a  little 
further:  For  one  thing  he  was  evidently  out  with 
the  world,  and  like  Jonah,  displeased  with  the  Lord. 
Being  directed  to  go  from  his  retreat  on  a  journey  to 
a  certain  mountain,  he  evidently  arrived  there  in  no 
amiable  state  of  mind.  Here  he  had  a  series  of  ob- 
ject lessons  and  an  experience  that  followed,  which 
we  can  study  with  profit  in  this  connection.  Several 
things  happened:  Three  mighty  displays  of  physical 
force  took  place.  But  the  prophet  was  no  coward, 
and  they  but  strengthened  him  in  his  stubbornness. 
Neither  the  cyclone  that  dashed  the  rocks  in  pieces, 
nor  the  earthquake  that  rocked  old  Horeb  like  a  ship 
in  a  storm,  nor  the  raging  fire  that  surged  around  him 
like  a  blast  from  the  pit,  served  to  move  his  heart. 
They  might  for  a  time  have  awed  a  less  sturdy  char- 
acter, but  even  then  the  effect  would  have  been  but 
temporary,  and  at  that  not  of  the  kind  that  reforms 
the  life.  Such  things  are  not  of  a  nature  to  subdue  the 
wild  passions  of  the  heart. 

After  these  displays  had   passed,    however,    and 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  51 

a  great  calm  filled  the  cave  where  he  was,  there  came 
a  more  powerful  influence.  As  though  to  show  us  the 
inability  of  spectacular  physical  displays  to  cope  with 
human  instincts,  there  came  the  disturbances  describ- 
ed, and  then  what  is  called  "A  STILL,  SMALL 
VOICE/'  In  contrast  with  the  raging  elements,  it 
spoke  to  the  prophet  in  the  tender  accents  of  infinite 
sympathy  and  compassion.  Then  it  was  that  Elijah 
hid  his  face  in  his  mantel,  and  for  the  first  time  since 
fire  came  down  on  Mount  Carmel,  is  willing  to  attend 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  He  is  now  informed  that 
he  is  not  the  only  one  God  has  left  in  Israel,  as  he  had 
eroneously  supposed,  but  that  God  has  seven  thousand 
in  Israel  who  had  never  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.  And 
this  was  as  much  as  to  say  that  the  number  was  the 
same  then  as  before  the  great  demonstration  by  fire 
from  heaven. 

What  then  could  have  been  the  object  of  the 
three  years*  drougth,  the  test  between  God  and  Baal, 
and  the  slaying  of  the  priests  of  Baal?  They  were 
purely  political  in  the  sense  of  preserving  the  Jewish 
nation  in  its  allegiance  to  the  Laws  of  Moses.  In  this 
they  had  their  effect;  but  as  moral  and  spiritual  forces, 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  any  good  effect.  There 
were  seven  thousand  true  to  God  before,  and  the 
same  number  after.  This  at  least  was  so  except  we 
play  on  the  number  seven,  which  I  am  not  inclined  to 
do.  The  lesson  is  that  the  world  does  not  need  con- 
vincing, but  converting.  The  FOOL  hath  said  in  his 


52          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

heart  'there  is  no  God/  "  The  trouble  is  not  with  the 
HEAD  but  with  the  HEART.  Where  the  heart  is 
right  the  head  is  seldom  wrong.  "Signs  and  won- 
ders" do  not  reach  the  seat  of  the  trouble. 

"NOT  MY  MIGHT  NOR  BY  POWER,  BUT 
MY  SPIRIT,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts/'  It  is  the 
STILL,  SMALL  VOICE,  and  not  fear,  wonder  or 
demonstrations  to  convince  the  skeptical,  that  reaches 
and  changes  the  heart.  Fear  and  wonder  had  their 
places  in  the  old  dispensation  for  political  purposes, 
but  they  are  utterly  inconsistant  with  the  new.  There- 
fore the  sign  suggested  by  Satan  and  the  signs  de- 
manded by  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  were  at  varience 
with  the  very  nature  of  Christ's  kingdom.  It  is  spiritual 
and  not  physical.  And  to  continue  this  all-important 
topic  just  a  moment  longer,  we  will  suggest  for  the 
reader's  investigation,  the  kind  of  works  to  which 
Christ  appealed  under  the  heading, 

THE  CONCURRANCE  OF  MIRACLE  AND  MERCY. 

On  examining  the  works  to  which  Christ  appeal- 
ed, we  find  them  to  be  not  exhibitions  of  God's 
power,  but  of  His  character.  In  one  sense  of  course 
they  displayed  divine  power,  and  in  this  respect  were 
as  valid  credentials  as  though  they  had  been  highly 
spectacular,  even  such  as  that  suggested  by  Satan.  But 
power  was  merely  incidental  to  them,  and  not  in  any 
way  expressive  of  their  real  purpose.  Their  central 
thought  is  THE  GOODNESS  OF  GOD.  They  show 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  58 

His  disposition  toward  His  children.  They  were  per- 
formed solely  in  the  interests  of  suffering  humanity. 
They  were  practical  proofs  of  the  divine  Father's  com- 
passion for  His  fallen  children — a  demonstration  that 
was  sadly  needed  then,  and  one  which  we  still  need 
to  reflect  upon.  There  was  in  the  same  act  the  con- 
currance  of  Miracle  and  Mercy.  Power  and  goodness 
were  thus  inseparable.  This  forces  the  conclusion  as 
nothing  else  could,  that  the  act  of  Mercy  was  the  act 
of  God.  Divine  Love  and  Divine  Power  thus 
brighten  up  the  ways  of  Christ  as  with  the  light  of  the 
sun.  Whoever  denies  this  had  better  first  stop  and 
consider  what  Christ  said  in  answer  to  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees  when  they  said  that  He  cast  out  devils  by 
Baelzebub  the  prince  of  devils. 

A  FLATTERING  OFFER. 

Had  Jesus  yielded  to  either  of  the  two  tempta- 
tions hereinbefore  described,  the  third  would  not 
have  been  presented.  Satan  would  have  had  a  com- 
plete victory  without  it,  and  would  not  have  been 
under  the  necessity  of  offering  to  divide  his  kingdom 
with  Christ.  We  have  seen  that  the  former  tempta- 
tions, either  directly  or  indirectly,  involved  violations 
of  the  very  laws  of  the  kingdom  Christ  came  to  es- 
tablish. They  were  very  adroitly  presented,  with 
their  true  significance  concealed,  but  it  was  there  all 
the  same;  and  though  He  was  reduced  to  the  lowest 
extremity  consistant  with  life,  they  did  not  escape 


54  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

the  scrutiny  of  Christ.  To  this  fact  we  owe  the  third 
temptation,  which  was  thus  made  necessary  by  the 
failure  of  the  former  two. 

It  was  held  for  the  last  evidently  because  it  in- 
volved a  partnership  in  which  Satan  must  divide  the 
spoils  with  Christ  This  was  a  concession  which  Satan 
was  naturally  loth  to  make,  but  having  failed  to  sub- 
vert the  kingdom  of  Christ,  he  became  fearful  as  to 
the  security  of  his  own,  and  was  driven  to  the  expe- 
dient of  a  compromise. 

Following  Matthew,  we  read: — 

"Again  the  devil  taketh  Him  up  into  an  exceed- 
ing high  mountain,  and  showeth  Him  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them,  and  saith  unto 
Him  'All  these  things  will  I  give  Thee,  if  Thou  wilt 
fall  down  and  worship  me/  * 

There  is  no  "If  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God**  in  this. 
That  point  had  been  given  up.  Satan  now  recognizes 
the  true  character  of  his  opponent,  and  sees  that  it 
is  useless  to  raise  doubts  in  the  mind  of  Christ  about 
it.  In  the  language  quoted  he  tacitly  acknowledges 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  proposes  an  alliance  with 
Him  as  such. 

THE  JEWISH  LEADERS  IN  ERROR. 

Satan  begins  this  temptation  in  the  usual  style  of 
shrewd  bargainers  by  making  the  terms  very  high. 
Should  Christ  make  a  counter  proposal,  he  could  make 
a  handsome  fall  in  his  terms,  and  still  have  the  best 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  55 

of  it.  Even  should  he  be  compelled  to  accept  the 
partnership  on  equal  terms,  his  chief  object  would 
thereby  be  gained,  towit:  The  overthrow  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  and  the  substitution  therefor  of  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world.  It  was  along  the  line  of  the 
old  order  of  things,  involving  the  same  old  Competi- 
tive System  under  which  Satan's  kingdom  had  been 
built  up. 

Furthermore  it  was  exactly  in  harmony  with  the 
popular  conception  of  Messiah's  kingdom  as  a  world- 
power,  which  notion  Satan  had  been  evidently  care- 
ful to  cultivate  in  the  Jewish  mind.  The  Jews  did 
not  then  and  do  not  now  know  the  true  limits  of  their 
mission.  They  thought  then  and  still  insist  that  the 
mission  of  Messiah  is  to  re-establish  the  worldly  rule 
of  David,  and  make  Jerusalem  the  metropolis  of  the 
world.  But  we  know  now  that  their  sole  mission  was 
to  preserve  the  Law  and  bring  forth  the  Christ.  To 
accomplish  these  things,  the  Theocracy  was  founded 
amidst  the  awful  thunderings  of  Sinai,  and  other  dis- 
plays of  physical  force.  These  displays  were  neces- 
sary in  order  to  keep  the  refractory  within  bounds,  and 
to  preserve  at  least  the  semblance  of  law  and  order 
among  the  people.  But  Christ,  when  He  came,  was 
"the  end  of  the  Law"  and  the  great  ante-type,  in 
Whom  was  fulfilled  all  that  the  Law  prefigured.  When 
His  kingdom  was  set  up,  the  political  kingdom  was 
legally  at  an  end. 

But   this   third   temptation   seemed   calculated   to 


5G  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

accomplish  the  very  thing  for  which  He  came,  to-wit: 
To  give  Him  the  dominion  of  the  earth,  and  that  at 
once,  without  the  struggle  that  lay  before  Him.  And 
there  is  no  good  reason  to  doubt,  as  is  generally  done, 
the  sincerity  of  the  proposition,  or  as  the  politicians 
would  say,  Satan's  ability  to  "deliver  the  goods."  He 
has  since  then  delivered  them  to  others  and  on  ex- 
actly the  same  condition.  It  can  also  be  said  that  in 
every  case  the  bargain  has  been  faithfully  kept  on 
both  sides. 

But  it  is  deemed  preposterous  by  some  that  Satan 
would  have  kept  it  on  his  part,  as  that  would  have 
been  surrendering  his  kingdom  to  Jesus  the  Christ. 
There  are,  however,  the  best  of  reasons  for  suppos- 
ing that  Satan  would  rather  have  seen  Jesus  Emperor 
of  Rome  than  any  other  person.  In  such  an  event, 
Jesus  would  no  longer  have  been  the  Christ,  but 
Caesar  only.  And  had  Jesus  been  disposed  to  listen, 
Satan  would  have  been  glad  to  modify  the  condition 
imposed. 

And  when  we  stop  to  consider,  the  absurdity  of 
his  doing  so  fades  away.  The  alternative  was  death 
on  the  cross.  On  the  one  hand  was  the  Roman  Crown, 
on  the  other  the  Roman  Cross.  To  accept  the  former 
was  to  escape  the  latter.  Thus  two  mighty  impulses 
combined  in  his  temptation:  one  the  impulse  to  es- 
cape all  the  horrors  hell  could  invent  and  man  exe- 
cute, and  the  other  to  acquire  all  the  glory  earth  could 
bestow.  No  such  alternative  had  ever  been  brought 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  57 

on  the  sons  of  Adam.  Besides  the  proposal  was  plaus- 
able  as  well  as  inviting.  It  was  in  direct  line  with  the 
theology  of  the  day.  It  promised  all  that  the  Jews 
looked  and  longed  for.  It  was  a  solution  of  all  their 
difficulties.  It  guaranteed  the  immediate  and  effectual 
ascendency  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  the  law  of 
Moses. 

And  so  far  as  Satan  was  concerned,  it  was  ever 
afterward  an  open  proposition,  ready  for  acceptance 
on  the  part  of  Jesus.  The  devils  insisted  from  time 
to  time  in  acknowledging  Him  as  the  Son  of  God,  and 
submitted  to  his  bidding.  When  so  permitted  this 
acknowledgment  they  would  make  on  all  occasions. 
Often  He  enjoined  silence  upon  them  and  again  did 
not  suffer  them  to  speak.  But  it  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  since  He  completed  His  work,  no  evil  spirit  has 
ever  acknowledged  Him  as  the  Son  of  God.  Divers 
of  them  have  claimed  to  be  divine,  but  none  of  them 
have  been  known  to  consent  that  Christ  has  come  in 
the  flesh.  In  fact  the  test  suggested  by  the  apostle 
by  which  to  "prove  the  spirits,**  was  to  sound  them 
on  this  subject.  If  they  deny  that  Christ  has  come 
in  the  flesh,  they  are  not  of  God. 

But  how  persistent  was  this  idea  of  the  Jews  that, 
as  suggested  by  this  third  temptation,  the  Messiah* s 
kigndom  should  be  a  worldy  one.  In  spite  of  all  evi- 
dences of  divine  favor  that  attended  Jesus,  they  stub- 
bornly rejected  Him  because  He  did  not  fill  this  ex- 
pectation. So  firm  a  hold  had  the  idea  of  a  world- 


58  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

conquering  Messiah  gained,  that  the  Apostles,  in  the 
very  face  of  the  positive,  emphatic  and  repeated  decla- 
rations of  Jesus  to  the  contrary,  insisted  upon  it  to  the 
very  last,  and  after  his  crucifixion,  though  fore-warned 
of  what  should  happen,  each  went  disconsolately  to  his 
former  life,  supposing  his  claims  were  all  a  dream. 

EXPECTATIONS  OF  THE  JEWS. 

And  there  was  some  reason  for  this  contention 
of  the  Jews,  for  which  I  think  they  have  not  been 
given  full  credit.  We  of  today  know  of  course  that 
they  were  wrong,  and  we  fail  to  appreciate  their  state 
of  mind.  In  the  first  place,  many  of  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament  seem  to  favor  their  contention.  It 
is  also  evident  that  their  leaders  dwelt  with  much  unc- 
tion on  these  prophecies  especially  since  they  had  be- 
come subject  to  Roman  oppression.  Besides  the  idea 
of  a  world-conquering  Messiah  flattered  their  national 
pride,  or  patriotism  as  we  call  it.  This  no  doubt  was  a 
potent  factor,  for  national  consciousness  was  and  is 
today  stronger  in  them  than  in  any  other  people. 
Since  the  return  from  the  seventy  years'  captivity,  the 
Jewish  mind  has  been  crystalized  on  this  subject.  So 
persistent  in  fact  is  the  national  idea  in  the  Jews,  that 
after  nearly  two  thousand  years  persecution,  they  are 
today,  though  without  a  country  of  their  own,  and 
scattered  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  as  distinct 
a  nation  as  they  were  in  the  times  of  Christ.  And  they 
were  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  Christ  when 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  59 

he  should  come  would  abide  forever.  His  death, 
resurrection  and  ascension,  were  never  thought  of  in 
this  connection.  The  whole  body  politic  was  saturated 
with  the  thought  of  a  world-kingdom  for  Messiah. 
When,  therefore,  He  said  that  His  kingdom  was  not  of 
this  world,  they  would  have  nothing  of  it. 

A  MORAL  AND  MENTAL  HERCULES. 

In  concluding  these  remarks  on  the  Temptation, 
attention  is  recalled  to  an  important  feature  of  the 
character  of  Christ  which  has  been  casually  mentioned 
on  a  former  page.  It  is  something  which  has  been 
habitually  overlooked,  and  which  in  fact  you  seldom 
or  "never  hear  mentioned.  The  reference  is  to  His  ir- 
resistible and  unconquerable  strength  of  purpose.  His 
patience,  long-suffering  and  kindness,  have  been  so 
dwelt  upon  and  emphasized,  as  in  the  popular  view 
to  eclipse  those  of  a  more  rugged  and  masculine  sort. 
In  this  way  the  current  conception  of  Christ  has  come 
to  be  almost  of  a  feminine  character.  It  is  very  un- 
fortunate that  this  can  be  said,  and  I  feel  it  important 
that  this  notion  be  combatted.  The  impression  that 
He  was  effiminate  repels.  No  matter  how  we  may  dis- 
course to  the  contrary,  the  idea  that  He  was  merely 
good  is  not  satisfactory  to  the  average  intelligence. 
He  must  be  more  than  that  to  satisfy  the  demand. 
Mere  sentimentality  can  never  answer  the  requirements 
of  the  ideal  Christ.  And  the  impression  that  He  had 


60  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

only  the  attributes  of  the  softer  sort,  that  are  summed 
up  in  the  term  GOODNESS,  is  a  false  one.  It  is  true 
that  He  had  all  the  tenderness  of  a  woman  but  added 
thereto  were  all  the  strength  and  aggressiveness  of 
man;  for  He  was  the  SPIRITUAL  HEAD  OF  THE 
HUMAN  FAMILY.  He  had  all  the  best  qualities  of 
the  race,  regardless  of  sex. 

Especially  is  it  sought  at  this  time  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  stronger  qualities  He  exhibited.  When 
seen  in  His  true  light,  He  becomes  the  moral  and  men- 
tal Hercules  of  the  ages.  Where,  for  instance,  can 
be  found  any  record  of  a  strength  of  purpose  and 
power  of  resistance  to  to  be  compared  with  that  of 
Jesus  in  the  Wilderness,  let  alone  Gethsemane  and 
Calvary?  Look  at  the  Wilderness:  here  are  two  pros- 
pects— the  one  all  glory  and  the  other  all  woe.  And 
the  alternative  is  presented  at  the  psychological  mo- 
ment. He  was  prone  and  wasted,  alone  and  forsaken, 
with  none  to  prompt  Him  but  Satan,  and  none  to 
cheer  Him  but  the  wild  beasts!  And  yet  without  even 
stopping  to  choose  between  the  glory  and  the  woe,  He 
instantly  commands  the  temper  to  get  himself  hence! 

Not  that  He  thereby  renounced  the  dominion  of 
the  world.  It  was  and  is  rightfully  His.  But  He 
scorned  the  means  of  its  obtaining,  and  the  implied 
manner  of  its  administration.  Rather  than  do  this 
He  would  take  up  His  journey  to  the  Cross.  He 
would  found  His  kingdom  on  righteousness,  and  con- 
quer by  this  or  not  at  all.  His  people  should  "be 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  61 

willing  in  the  day  of  His  power,"  and  should  be  ruled 
by  the  Law  of  Love  and  not  by  that  of  fear. 

It  is  folly  to  say  that  His  character  as  Messiah 
placed  Him  above  temptation.  This  would  make 
Satan  out  a  fool  for  presenting  it,  and  contradict  the 
Scripture  that  says  "He  was  tempted  in  all  points  like 
as  we  are.'*  When  He  saw  the  scepters,  crowns  and 
thrones,  the  legions  of  Rome,  and  heard  the  shouting 
multitudes  hail  Him  as  king-of-kings,  and  then  beheld 
that  other  scene,  blackened  all  over  with  woe  and 
shame,  ending  in  the  tragedy  of  Calvary,  can  we  have 
the  heart  to  say  that  the  Son  of  Man  did  not  long 
for  the  one  and  shrink  from  the  other? 

What  would  Alexander,  Caesar  or  Napoleon  have 
done?  What  in  fact  did  they  do  but  choose  "the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,"  and  that  without  the 
motive  of  the  dread  alternative?  And  yet  we  call 
these  men  * 'great*'  and  their  names  have  come  down 
to  us  as  synonims  of  power!  But  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
at  His  worst  could  do  that  which  was  too  much  for 
them  when  at  their  best.  When  compared  with  Him 
what  weaklings  were  they! 

And  how  they  would  have  scouted  the  idea  of 
a  lone  peasant  seeking  to  establish  a  kingdom  by 
moral  suasion  alone.  And  then  to  think  of  His  re- 
jecting the  preferred  dominion  of  the  world!  And 
have  you  ever  reflected  that  never  for  one  instant  did 
He  seek  His  accomplishments  by  indirection  or 
Never  for  one  instant  did  He  court  the 


62  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

great.  Never  for  one  instant  did  He  abate  one  iota 
of  His  demands. 

On  the  contrary  He  trod  "rough-shod  '  so  to 
speak,  over  every  in-born  and  in-bred  race  and  re- 
ligious prejudice  of  His  countrymen  that  lay  in  His 
way.  It  mattered  not  to  Him  that  for  these  they  were 
ready  to  contend  to  the  death.  For  this  He  was  re- 
jected and  crucified.  Because  He  would  not  listen  to 
Satan  and  the  Jews  in  conforming  His  kingdom  to  this 
world,  but  on  the  contrary  insisted  that  it  must  consist 
of  "Righteousness  and  Peace  and  Joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  He  must  endure  the  Cross. 

I  have  thus  dwelt  on  these  scenes  in  the  Wilder- 
ness because  it  is  plain  to  me  that  they  outline  and 
epitomize  the  events  that  afterwards  took  place.  No 
attempt  has  been  made  to  go  into  those  subtile  and 
doubtful  speculations  with  which  commentators  gen- 
erally amuse  their  readers  when  discussing  this  sub- 
ject. It  is  hereby  premised  that  it  will  shed  no  light 
on  the  situation  and  is  therefore  of  no  importance  as 
to  how  Satan  manifested  himself  nor  as  to  the  form 
in  which  the  temptations  were  presented.  It  is  as- 
sumed that  whatever  is  set  down  by  the  Evangelists 
is  stated  as  it  occurred.  That  Jesus  fasted,  was  "after- 
ward an  hungered,"  that  "when  the  tempter  came  to 
Him"  He  began  and  conducted  the  controversy  as 
given  in  the  record.  That  Satan  was  defeated  in  the 
argument  and  then  made  an  unlawful  proposal  for 
which  he  was  ordered  hence.  There  seems  to  be 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  63 

no  useful  object  attained  by  going  outside  the  records, 
nor  by  any  attempt  to  show  that  things  happened 
otherwise  than  as  related. 

That  they  took  place  at  all  is  enough  for  us  to 
know.  That  they  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  the  charac- 
ters, intentions  and  relative  strength  of  the  two  great 
actors,  is  of  far  more  concern  to  us  than  theories  as 
to  the  manner  of  procedures.  Such  theories  can  at 
their  best  serve  to  satisfy  nothing  more  than  a  vain  and 
idle  curiosity.  No  doubt  the  forty  days  were  crowded 
with  the  most  exciting  occurances,  but  as  to  what 
they  were  and  their  full  significance,  we  can  probably 
never  know  this  side  of  eternity.  They  may,  with  all 
written  and  unwritten,  that  happened  in  our  Lord's  ca- 
reer on  earth,  form  a  theme  for  our  study  in  the  end- 
less and  no  doubt  busy  life  that  awaits  His  true  fol- 
lowers in  the  life  beyond.  But  even  here  the  study 
of  the  things  that  are  set  down  for  us,  cannot  fail  to 
bring  its  reward  in  the  light  it  throws  on  many  things 
that  thereafter  happened,  which  would  otherwise  be 
obscure. 

A  BROAD  GAUGED  MAN. 

In  a  study  of  Christ  it  is  important  that  we  get 
an  understanding  of  His  humanity.  It  will  not  do  to 
forget  that  He  was  a  man  nor  that  it  was  as  a  man  that 
He  endured  temptation,  and  finally  suffered  as  such 
on  the  cross.  In  Him  God  and  Man  met,  and  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  His  life  and  crucifixion  dwelt  in 


64  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

perfect  accord.  In  Him  God  was  reconciled  to  Man, 
and  in  Him  Man  is  reconciled  to  God.  In  Him  was 
established  that  harmony  between  the  Creator  and  the 
Created  without  which  the  latter  can  have  no  hope. 

It  is,  therefore,  with  the  man  Christ  Jesus  that 
I  now  proceed  under  the  above  heading. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  first  miracle  per- 
formed by  Jesus  recognized  the  amenities  of  social 
life.  It  distinguished  Him  from  John,  who  was  an 
ascetic.  It  was  at  the  marriage  of  Cana  in  Gallilee, 
when  He  turned  the  water  to  wine  to  supply  the  lack 
of  that  element.  In  this  He  gave  a  signal  and  em- 
phatic approval  not  only  of  the  marriage  relation,  but 
of  social  gatherings,  at  which  neighbors  meet  and 
throw  off  the  cares  of  life.  Jesus  speaks  of  the  differ- 
ence between  himself  and  John  in  this  respect,  saying: 
"John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they  say 
he  hath  a  devil."  "The  Son  of  Man  came  eating  and 
drinking,  and  they  say:  'Behold  a  glutonous  Man, 
and  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners/  * 
John  belonged  to  a  class  but  Jesus  has  never  been 
classified.  His  nature  was  world-wide.  There  has 
been  no  age  nor  clime  He  could  not  call  his  own.  His 
teaching  and  sympathies  meet  every  demand  of  all 
the  human  race  for  all  time.  In  other  words  He  stands 
as  the  sole  exponent  of  the  Creator  of  the  race. 

No  prejudice,  no  training  nor  class  distinction 
can  be  found  in  any  of  His  sayings.  As  an  instance 
the  Jews  so  despised  the  Samaritans  that  they  felt 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  65 

defiled  even  by  contact  with  their  soil.  It  is  doubtful 
if  there  was  ever  any  such  antipathy  felt  by  any  other 
people  as  that  shown  by  the  Jews  to  the  Samaritans. 
But  this  did  not  in  the  least  show  itself  in  Jesus.  In 
fact  He  set  Himself  sternly  against  it.  He  did  not 
hesitate  to  go  through  their  country,  nor  to  tarry  with 
them,  nor  to  teach  them.  It  is  a  luminous  comment- 
ary on  his  world-wide  spirit,  that  the  ill-famed  Sa- 
maritan woman  He  found  at  Jacob's  well,  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  to  whom  He  declared 
Himself  to  be  the  Christ. 

A  FRIEND  OF  THE  FRIENDLESS. 

How  we  all  love  the  "Good  Samaritan**  and  de- 
spise the  Priest  and  Levite,  who  "passed  by  on  the 
other  side*  when  they  saw  him  who  had  been  left 
"half  dead**  by  the  thieves!  Of  all  the  Jews  these 
should  have  been  the  first  to  stop  and  render  the  poor 
fellow  assistance.  But  they  left  it  to  the  despised  Sa- 
maritan, and  in  this  parable  Jesus  gave  them  a  slap  in 
the  face,  knowing  at  the  same  time  that  they  had  it 
in  their  power  to  do  Him  harm,  and  that  the  Samari- 
tan could  not  prevent  them.  What  if  some  promi- 
nent preacher  amongst  us  should  have  the  temerity 
to  thus  contrast  a  doctor  of  divinity  and  college  pro- 
fessor with  a  hobo,  and  correspondingly  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  hobo!  It  goes  without  saying  that  the 
aforesaid  preacher  would  have  to  watch  pretty  sharp 
in  order  to  escape  a  figurative  crucifixion. 


66  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

And  yet  this  would  be  but  a  trifle  when  com- 
pared with  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  And 
this  was  but  a  sample  of  what  was  taking  place  all 
the  time.  The  fact  that  He  was  a  "friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners'*  was  enough  to  condemn  Him  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Jewish  leaders.  But  this  did  not  in  the 
least  affect  His  friendship  for  publicans  and  sinners,  nor 
the  open  way  in  which  he  manifested  it.  These  things 
go  to  show  that  He  was  as  broad  as  the  necessities 
and  divergencies  of  the  race. 

THE  NARROW  WAY. 

But  some  may  imagine  that  this  is  inconsistent 
with  the  "narrow  way"  that  is  recommended  by  Christ. 
This  expression  is  found  in  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Matthew,  and  is  a  part  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
If  you  will  read  that  address  through,  beginning  with 
the  Beatitudes  in  the  fifth  chapter,  you  will  discover 
that  it  teaches  the  Science  of  Religion.  When,  there- 
fore, He  says  "straight  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the 
way  which  leadeth  unto  life"  He  merely  states  a  fact. 
He  did  not  invent  that  fact,  nor  is  He  in  any  way 
responsible  for  its  being  such.  It  exists  in  the  very 
nature  of  things.  Not  that  the  "way"  referred  to  is 
at  all  obscure.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  so  plain  that 
"the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  SHALL  NOT  err 
therein."  It  is  narrow  for  one  reason,  and  a  good  and 
sufficient  one,  that  no  one  can  serve  two  masters.  He 
can't  go  wobbling  along  the  way  of  life  in  a  good- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  67 

Lord-and-a-good-devil  way.  He  must  cleave  to  the 
one  or  the  other,  and  if  he  undertakes  to  walk  crook- 
ed, it  will  probably  be  the  other. 

In  order  to  understand  what  Jesus  taught,  He 
must  first  be  understood.  And  any  one  who  reads  the 
Gospels  with  Him  always  in  view,  must  see  clearly  that 
there  is  nothing  narrow  in  all  His  thought.  It  was  the 
broadness  of  His  thought  that  brought  upon  Him  the 
enmity  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  It  can  also  be 
said  that  it  was  their  small,  contemptable  and  hypo- 
critical natures  that  brought  upon  them  the  leash  of 
His  denunciation. 

There  was  a  class  of  people  then  as  now,  who 
called  themselves  liberal.  We  find  them  even  away 
back  in  the  times  of  Isaiah.  In  describing  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  He  tells  us  how  such  people  would  be  look- 
ed upon  when  that  kingdom  had  become  established. 
These  pestiverous  pretenders  are  always  parading 
themselves  as  "broad-minded"  and  affect  great  superi- 
ority in  that  respect.  Religion  is  too  "narrow  and  ex- 
clusive" for  them.  But  hear  Isaiah's  description  of  a 
prophecy  concerning  them.  The  quotation  is  from 
the  thirty-second  chapter  "The  vile  person  shall  no 
longer  be  called  liberal,  nor  the  churl  said  to  be 
bountiful.  For  the  vile  person  will  speak  villainy,  and 
his  heart  will  work  iniquity,  to  practice  hypocrisy,  and 
to  utter  error  against  the  Lord,  to  make  empty  the  soul 
of  the  hungry,  and  he  will  cause  the  drink  of  the 
thirsty  to  fail." 


68          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

What  more  graphic  description  could  be  given  of 
those  self-styled  "broad-minded  liberals,"  who  are 
now  engaged  in  warfare,  open  or  covert,  against  the 
kingdom  of  Christ?  But  true  to  prophecy,  they  are 
now  known  and  designated,  not  as  "liberals,"  but  as 
INFIDELS. 

But  consider  further  as  to  what  He  meant  by 
"the  narrow  way":  In  the  preceding  verse  He  recites 
the  Golden  Rule,  and  then  comes  the  exhortation  to 
enter  in  at  the  straight  gate,  etc.  It  is  indeed  a  nar- 
row way,  but  is  there  anything  "narrow-minded" 
about  it?  It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  broadest  possible 
thought  that  could  be  conceived.  Stand  up  and  be 
measured  by  the  Golden  Rule,  my  "liberal"  friend, 
for  that  is  the  best  test  of  liberality.  If  you  are  willing 
to  do  by  others  as  you  would  have  others  do  by  you, 
you  are  the  "pink  and  perfection"  of  liberality  and 
broad-mindedness. 

Jesus  was  so  uniquely  liberal  that  He  could  get 
no  one  to  understand  what  He  meant  by  it.  The  Jews 
were  so  narrow  that  they  conceived  the  idea  that;  they 
were  the  only  people.  They  were  so  well  satisfied  with 
themselves  that  in  their  eyes  all  other  nations  were 
"unclean."  There  is  no  sentiment  of  the  human  mind 
so  strong  as  that  of  national  and  race-prejudice,  and 
in  no  people  was  it  so  vital  as  with  the  Jews.  Even 
the  Apostles,  though  plainly  commanded  to  "go  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture," could  not  for  a  time  comprehend  this  idea. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  69 

Peter  himself,  had  to  be  brought  to  it  by  a  vision. 
Even  then  no  proper  conception  of  the  breadth  of 
Christ's  purpose  could  be  gained  until  after  Jesus  Him- 
self came  down  in  person  and  commissioned  Saul  of 
Tarsus  as  a  special  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 

A  BROTHER  OF  THE  RACE. 

But  it  is  a  strong  incidental  proof  of  His  divinity 
that  not  the  least  trace  of  national  or  race-prejudice 
has  even  been  discovered  in  either  the  spirit  or  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  same  can  be  said  as  to 
class-prejudice.  As  to  the  commandments  it  is  hard 
for  us  to  realize  how  He  broadened  them,  because  we 
find  it  difficult  to  understand  how  much  the  Jews  had 
narrowed  them.  How  radical,  for  instance,  must  have 
seemed  His  interpretation  of  the  Sabbath.  Against 
their  solemn  protest  He  persisted  in  healing  on  the 
Sabbath.  "The  Sabbath  v/as  made  for  man  and  not 
man  for  the  Sabbath,"  He  said.  The  heathen  Samari- 
tan, who  showed  mercy,  was  worth  a  multitude  of  the 
punctilious  Priests  and  Levites  who  passed  on  the 
other  side.  "Who  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  my 
brethren?"  He  said.  "Whoever  shall  do  the  will  of 
My  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  My  brother, 
and  sister  and  mother."  He  refused  to  tell  the  rulers 
of  the  Jews  when  asked  if  He  were  the  Christ,  for  it 
was  their  duty  to  know  without  telling,  but  immediate- 
ly thereafter  announced  His  Messiaship  to  a  beggar! 

The  ministry  of  Christ  is  crowded  with  such  il- 


70  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

lustrations  of  His  magnanimity  and  breadth  of  thought 
and  spirit.  He  revolted  at  all  littleness,  indirection, 
subterfuge  and  hypocrisy.  He  could  no  more  be  con- 
fined within  the  limits  of  sect,  class  or  race  than  could 
the  sun  be  held  from  shining  over  the  earth.  And 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  only  one  of  the  sons  of  men 
of  whom  these  things  can  be  said!  Truly  He  was  "A 
BROAD  GAUGED  MAN/1 

THE  DEVIL'S  DISCIPLES. 

A  study  of  Christ  necessarily  includes  a  consider- 
ation of  His  environment.  Volumes  have  been  writ- 
ten upon  the  subject,  but  as  we  are  simply  studying 
effects,  a  general  statement  is  all  our  purpose  requires. 

In  the  first  place  the  age  itself,  though  one  of 
universal  peace,  was  also  one  of  almost  universal  de- 
pravity. In  the  Gentile  world,  the  influence  of  such 
religious  sentiment  as  had  formerly  existed,  had  al- 
most disappeared,  and  as  yet  there  was  nothing  to 
take  its  place.  With  the  Jews  religion  had  degener- 
ated into  mere  formality,  and  for  the  most  part  was 
under  the  patronage  of  men  who  were  blind  to  its  real 
meaning.  Their  worship  was  merely  mechanical,  and 
their  theology  of  the  cold,  heartless  and  selfish  sort. 

The  scribes  were  the  teachers  with  whom  Jesus 
came  most  in  contact.  Being  doctors  of  the  law,  they 
at  once  became  interested  when  He  appeared  on  the 
scene.  No  doubt  many  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
were  good  men,  but  for  the  most  part  they  were  evil 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  71 

minded.     Of  course  they  opposed  Him  to  the  limit  of 
their  ability. 

Volumes  have  been  written  on  the  relative  status 
of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  but  their  general  charac- 
ter and  status  in  society  are  all  we  need  consider  now. 
As  to  the  scribes,  they  were  the  recognized  authority 
on  all  questions  sacred  or  secular.  They  were  held 
to  be  infallible.  Their  sanction  gave  currrency  to  any 
notion,  no  matter  how  absurd  it  might  be.  Since  the 
days  of  Ezra  they  had  been  the  sole  expounders  of  the 
law.  So  absolutely  had  they  gained  the  public  ear, 
that  their  expositions  of  the  law  had  actually  become 
of  greater  authority  than  the  law  itself!  Under  the 
pretense  of  **putting  a  hedge  around  the  law,"  as  they 
termed  their  commentaries,  they  succeeded  in  practi- 
cally setting  it  aside.  In  this  way  they  established  a 
verbal  code  of  their  own.  By  this  means  they  im- 
posed great  burdens  on  the  people,  of  which  they 
were  also  accused  by  the  Lord.  But  they  were  strictly 
obyed  in  all  things,  a  fact  which  shows  their  com- 
plete ascendency  over  the  popular  mind.  The  com- 
monest scribe  in  all  Israel  was  more  honored  than 
the  High  Priest  himself.  Being  infallible,  how  else 
could  it  be  that  he  would  take  precedence  even  of  the 
High  Priest?  Now  let  it  be  understood  that  what  the 
scribe  enjoined,  the  Pharisees  strictly  performed,  and 
that  together  they  were  the  dominating  factors  in  Is- 
rael, and  you  will  begin  to  appreciate  their  importance 
in  society. 


72          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

Aside  from  the  Apostles,  no  stronger  characters 
can  be  found  in  history  than  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees. And  let  it  be  remembered  that  from  the  start 
they  threw  all  their  power  against  Jesus.  Not  an  in- 
stant did  they  hesitate  to  use  their  prestige  against 
Him.  They  went  at  it  systematically,  and  used  all 
their  cunning  to  bring  Him  into  disrepute.  The  vio- 
lence they  finally  resorted  to  was  employed  at  the 
earliest  moment  it  could  be  used  with  safety.  It  re- 
quired almost  a  continuous  miracle  to  stop  them  until 
His  time  had  "fully  come.*' 

They  first  tried  to  silence  Him  by  argument. 
They  resorted  to  every  trick  of  the  debater.  They  laid 
all  manner  of  snares  for  entangling  Him  in  His  speech. 
But  every  attempt  in  this  direction  served  only  to  show 
up  their  own  folly.  In  spite  of  their  prestige,  every 
passage  at  arms  they  had  with  the  Gallilean  served 
only  to  bring  upon  themselves  the  jeers  of  the  multi- 
tude. In  no  instance  did  He  fail  to  put  them  to  shame 
before  the  people,  and  generally  out  of  their  own 
mouths.  Every  attempt  they  made  seemed  more  dis- 
astrous than  the  preceding  one,  and  from  hence  forth 
they  sought  only  His  life. 

But  before  going  further,  let  us  consider  the 
various  characters  ascribed  to  the  Pharisees:  There 
are  several  kinds  of  them  mentioned  in  the  literature 
of  their  day,  and  perhaps  there  is  no  better  way  than 
to  quote  from  the  authorities  on  the  subject.  They 
were  divided  into  classes  as  follows: 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  73 

1.  Those  who  did  the  will  of  God  for  earthly 
motives. 

2.  Those  who  made  very  small  steps  and  said: 
"Wait  for  me,  I  have  still  some  good  deed  to  do." 

3.  Those  who  went  with  their  eyes  half  shut,  or 
knocked  their  heads  against  a  wall,   lest  they  might 
look  at  a  woman. 

4.  A  class  called  ex  officio  saints. 

5.  Those  who  said  "Tell  me  of  another  duty.*' 

6.  Those  who  are  said  to  have  been  pious  for 
fear  of  God. 

As  to  both  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  they  were  as 
a  whole  a  sad  lot.  About  their  only  redeeming  fea- 
ture was  their  virility.  That  is  to  say,  they  were  ag- 
gressive, determined  and  uncompromising.  They 
opposed  Christ  because  He  exposed  them. 

BUT  HE  BROKE  THEIR  POWER. 

They  came  to  hate  Him  with  a  malignity  that  has 
seldom  if  ever  been  equaled,  because  by  stripping  them 
of  their  pretense,  He  touched  them  in  their  sorest  spot. 
Being  finally  and  thoroughly  discredited,  they  insult- 
ingly followed  Him  around  hoping  to  entangle  Him 
with  the  Romish  government.  To  make  a  long  story 
short,  they  recognized  the  fact  that  there  was  an  "ir- 
repressible conflict*'  between  them  and  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth. In  other  words,  they  must  overcome  or  be  over- 
come. He  broke  their  power  over  the  people,  and  it 
was  a  case  with  them  of  either  destroying  Him  or  of 
going  out  of  business.  Here  was  a  young  man  who 


74          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

not  only  refused  to  bow  to  them,  but  actually  called 
them  hypocrites,  serpents,  vipers  and  painted  sepul- 
churs,  "beautiful  and  white  without,  but  within,  full 
of  rottenness  and  dead  man's  bones!*'  Their  case 
was  desperate — they  were  fighting  for  their  very  ex- 
istence. They  were  finally  driven  to  make  common 
cause  with  their  ancient  enemies,  the  Saducees,  and 
in  that  way  finally  succeeded  in  compassing  His  death. 

But  what  a  doom  they  thereby  brought  upon 
themselves!  They  involved  themselves  and  their 
country  in  irretrievable  ruin.  They  are  to  this  day  a 
hissing  and  a  by-word  in  the  mouths  of  all  nations. 
Especially  is  it  true  as  to  one  party  to  the  conspiracy. 
No  one  has  to  this  day  consented  to  be  called  a 
Pharisee. 

Thus  we  gain  some  idea  of  the  opposition  Jesus 
had  to  meet  in  the  prosecution  of  His  work.  Had  He 
been  a  mere  reformer,  depending  alone  on  human 
aid,  He  could  have  made  no  impression.  From  a  hu- 
man standpoint,  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  were  so  in- 
trenched as  to  be  invulnerable.  No  man,  without  di- 
vine backing  could  have  withstood  them  as  did  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  That  He  endured  so  long  is  proof  posi- 
tive of  his  divinity. 

NICODEMUS,  THE  DUBIOUS. 

Speaking  of  the  Pharisees,  it  has  already  been 
remarked  that  no  doubt  some  of  them  were  good 
men.  It  would  be  strange  that  among  so  many  some 
fair  specimens  could  not  be  found.  In  this  category, 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  75 

it  is  with  pleasure  that  the  name  of  Nicodemus  is  men- 
tioned, though  he  was  by  no  means  a  brilliant  example. 
The  main  thing  that  can  be  said  for  him,  is  that  he 
was  not  a  hypocrite,  and  did  not  whine  around  for 
"signs."  The  miracles  that  Christ  performed  were 
enough  to  satisfy  him  that  Jesus  was  "a  teacher  come 
from  God,"  though  it  is  not  revealed  that  he  recog- 
nized Him  as  the  Messiah. 

Nicodemus  is  commented  on  herein  because  he 
is  a  type  of  a  class  that  exists  today,  and  further  be- 
cause all  types  are  interesting  because  instructive.  He 
stands  for  a  large  and  influential  section  of  our  church 
members.  He  numbers  his  disciples  by  the  million. 
For  this  reason,  (and  for  this  cause  alone),  he  is  en- 
titled to  a  large  consideration  at  our  hands. 

Just  previous  to  his  interview  with  Jesus,  he  had 
witnessed  the  cleansing  of  the  Temple  and  other  mira- 
cles. He  went  to  Jesus  by  night,  and  introduced  him- 
self by  saying,  "Rabbi,  we  know  Thou  art  a  teacher 
come  from  God,  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  Thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him."  This  is 
as  far  as  he  got.  The  question  he  came  to  ask  re- 
mains unpropounded  and  unanswered  to  this  time. 
The  context  indicates  that  it  pertained  to  the  future 
world.  In  fact  it  seems  plain  from  the  question  of 
Jesus  at  the  conclusion  of  the  interview:  If  I  have 
told  you  of  earthly  things  and  ye  believe  not,  how 
shall  ye  believe  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things? 
(From  this  on  the  language  is  John's.)  He  knew  that 


76          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

Jesus  could  tell  him  about  the  future  life,  and  took 
this  occasion  to  get  the  desired  information.  He  evi- 
dently did  not  give  a  second  thought  as  to  the  way  to 
get  to  heaven.  He  regarded  this  as  a  closed  question. 
Of  course  he  would  get  there  in  proper  time,  for  he 
was  not  of  those  classed  as  "sinners,**  but  was  of  the 
"elect." 

Therefore,  when  Jesus  forestalled  His  inquiry  in 
the  manner  He  did,  Nicodemus  was  somewhat  aston- 
ished. This  is  putting  it  mildly,  for  he  was  of  the 
most  conservative  of  men,  and  from  his  answer  it 
appears  to  have  been  what  our  slang-mongers  would 
call  "stumped.**  After  having  once  been  properly 
born,  and  that  into  the  most  approved  class,  and  hav- 
ing grown  to  be  "old**  and  occupying  a  seat  in  the 
counsels  of  the  Jews,  to  now  be  told  by  this  young 
Rabbi  that  he  must  "be  born  again**  or  never  see  the 
kingdom  of  God,  was  too  much  for  Nicodemus.  Even 
after  Jesus  had  explained  that  the  new  birth  was  not 
of  the  flesh,  but  of  the  spirit,  he  seemed  to  be  as  badly 
nonplused  as  ever.  "How  can  these  things  be?**  is 
the  last  word  we  hear  from  Nicodemus  at  this  time. 
He  was  a  Pharisee,  and  this  idea  of  a  new  spiritual 
birth  was  absurd.  It  was  revolutionary.  It  upset 
everything  to  which  he  was  wont  to  cling.  Besides 
who  and  what  would  he  be  after  he  had  been  "born 
again?**  Like  many  another  since,  he  could  not  recon- 
cile it  with  his  previous  conceptions,  and  all  he  could 
say  was,  "How  can  these  things  be?*' 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  77 

BELIEVED  BUT  DOUBTED. 

As  heretofore  stated,  the  principle  interest  in 
Nicodemus  is  that  he  represents  a  large  and  influential 
class  of  today.  This  class  consists  of  those  who  firmly 
believe  that  Jesus  is  "a  teacher  come  from  God,"  and 
cannot  get  away  from  that  conviction.  Nevertheless, 
they  practically  reject  the  most  essential  of  Christ's 
teaching,  and  especially  that  of  the  New  Birth.  They 
don't  like  the  idea  of  being  born  again.  It  is  too  radi- 
cal— almost  uncanny  in  fact.  This  being  "made 
over,"  "reconstructed,"  or  "converted,"  as  the  Metho- 
dists call  it,  is  something  they  do  not  care  to  bargain 
for. 

BUT  THE  DOCTRINE  STANDS. 

Before  proceeding  further  it  might  be  well  to  note 
how  this  great  fundamental  doctrine  was  emphasized 
by  the  Apostles.  John,  in  referring  to  Christ,  says  that 
"as  many  as  received  Him  gave  He  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His 
name,  which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 
Again:  "If  ye  know  that  He  is  righteous,  ye  know 
that  every  one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of 
Him."  Again:  "We  know  that  whosoever  is  born  of 
God  sinneth  not,  but  that  he  that  is  begotten  of  God 
keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him 
not."  Again:  "Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not 


78          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

commit  sin."  Once  more:  "Beloved,  let  us  love  one 
another,  for  love  is  of  God,  and  every  one  that  loveth 
is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God." 

Listen  also  to  James:  "Of  His  own  will  begat 
He  us  with  the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind 
of  first  fruits  of  His  creatures."  Here  are  some  of  the 
things  that  Peter  says  about  it:  "Being  born  again,  not 
of  corruptable  seed,  but  by  the  word  of  God.  *  And: 
"As  new  born  babes  desire  the  since  milk  of  the  word, 
that  ye  may  grow  thereby." 

Paul  has  a  great  many  things  to  say  about  it, 
among  which  are  the  following:  "Therefore,  if  any 
man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature.  Old  things 
are  passed  away;  behold  all  things  are  become  new." 
"For  in  Christ  Jesus  neither  circucision  availeth  any- 
thing, nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature."  "And 
have  put  on  the  NEW  MAN  which  is  renewed  in 
knowledge,  after  the  image  of  Him  that  CREATED 
HIM." 

And  in  many  other  forms  of  speech  did  the 
Apostles  emphasize  this  great  doctrine,  and  show  its 
absolute  necessity,  in  all  those  who  would  become 
members  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  stands  as  the 
most  prominent  doctrinal  land-mark  of  that  kingdom. 
As  Christ  told  Nicodemus,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee  EXCEPT  A  MAN  BE  BORN  AGAIN,  HE  CAN- 
NOT SEE  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD." 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  79 


BELIEVING,  BUT- 


But  our  Nicodemuses  of  today  do  not  subscribe 
to  this  because  they  are  not  willing  to  realize  the  fun- 
damental fact  of  life,  to-wit:  that  it  is  not  what  one 
THINKS,  nor  what  he  SAYS,  nor  even  what  he 
DOES  that  counts.  Important  as  these  things  are, 
they  are  but  secondary.  It  is  that  which  one  IS  that 
tells  the  story  for  him.  This  idea  exists  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  and  cannot  be  changed.  If  one  were 
transported  to  the  kingdom  of  God  without  being  born 
again,  he  would  be  out  of  harmony  with  his  environ- 
ment. He  would  be  a  mere  "pig  in  a  parlor,"  and  to 
say  the  least,  would  not  feel  at  home. 

Our  Nicodemuses  of  today,  like  their  spiritual  an- 
cestor, accept  Christ  as  *'a  teacher  come  from  God,*' 
and  like  him  also  reject  His  teachings.  It  is  under  the 
inspiration  of  his  leadership  that  the  modern  commer- 
cial spirit  drags  the  church  down  to  the  level  of  the 
world,  and  forces  upon  it  that  interpretation  of  Christ 
that  is  in  keeping  with  its  own  depraved  and  selfish 
instincts. 

There  are  two  points  in  Nicodemus  by  virtue  of 
which  he  becomes  the  great  prototype  of  that  vast 
herd  of  worldings  that  throngs  our  churches,  and  they 
are  these: 

1.  He  undoubtedly  was  a  man  of  strong  con- 
victions, being  willing  to  say  that  he  KNEW  that 
Jesus  was  "a  teacher  come  from  God."  On  this  point 


80  THE  TRtJE  AND  THE  FALSE 

it  seems  he  never  wavered,  for  we  find  him  a  disciple 
of  Christ  to  the  last,  though  secretly  for  fear  of  the 
Jews.  (He  was  looking  out  for  number  one.) 

2.  Though  believing,  he  does  not  accept.  Not 
that  he  rejects  Christ,  but  modifies  and  construes  Him 
according  to  his  ov/n  idea.  In  this  way  he  readjusts 
and  adapts  His  teaching  to  suit  his  own  purposes.  In 
doing  this  he  takes  refuge  behind  the  wondering  in- 
terogative,  "How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is 
old?"  And  when  it  is  explained  to  him  that  it  is  be- 
ing born  of  the  Spirit  and  not  of  the  flesh,  he  cuts  off 
all  further  discussion  by  stolidly  saying,  "How  can 
these  things  be?" 

HE  JOINS  A  CHURCH. 

There  come  to  our  churches  multitudes  of  men 
who,  like  Nicodemus,  believe  in  Christ  because  they 
cannot  help  it.  Their  judgment  is  convinced  and  they 
find  it  impossible  to  reverse  it.  Many  of  them  are 
men  of  wealth  and  influence,  and  some  of  them  of 
education.  But  like  Nicodemus,  they  are  met  on  the 
very  threshold  with  the  declaration,  "Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
And  like  him  they  begin  to  say,  "How  can  a  man  be 
born  when  he  is  old?  How  can  these  things  be?" 
But  they  cannot  get  away  from  the  conviction  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ — the  Son  of  God.  They  return 
again  and  again,  finally  becoming  regular  attendants 
of  the  Sunday  services. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  81 

It  might  be  that  under  the  continued  preaching 
of  the  Gospel,  they  would  at  last  yield  to  its  influence, 
and  become  converted;  but  in  an 'evil  hour  the  pastor 
or  some  traveling  evangelist  undertakes  to  explain  the 
doubtful  (?)  question.  In  doing  this  he  "tones  it 
down"  so  as  to  make  the  way  easy.  The  result  is 
that  being  born  again  as  he  "explains"  it,  does  not 
mean  this  and  does  not  mean  that.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  does  not  seem  to  mean  much  of  anything.  The 
conclusion  to  which  he  finally  carries  our  typical  Nico- 
demus,  is,  as  he  expresses  it,  "to  come  out  boldly  on 
the  Lord's  side,  and  fully  identify  himself  with  God's 
people."  In  other  words,  he  is  to  join  the  church. 
Now  as  coming  out  "boldly"  on  the  Lord's  side  no 
longer  means  anything  in  the  way  of  trouble,  but  on 
the  contrary  has  become  a  valuable  commercial,  so- 
cial and  political  asset,  our  modern  Nicodemus  hastens 
to  join  the  church.  This  he  does  v/ith  much  ease  and 
grace,  with  no  small  flourish  of  trumpets,  as  well  as 
great  satisfaction  to  the  pastor  and  joy  to  the  official 
board. 

AN  INFLUENTIAL  MEMBER. 

He  becomes  a  "highly  respected  and  influential 
member,"  occupying  important  official  positions.  He 
often  has  it  within  his  power  to  make  it  exceedingly 
interesting  for  any  preacher  of  that  church  who  un- 
dertakes to  disturb  his  views  on  the  new  birth.  On 
the  subject  of  religion,  he  is  a  conservative,  and  cannot 


82  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

endure  "cranks,"  as  he  calls  those  who  take  the  words 
of  Christ  seriously.  "There  is  reason  in  all  things," 
he  says,  "and  most  of  all  in  religion.  But  there  is 
neither  reason  or  sense  in  going  to  excess  in  such  mat- 
ters. People  should  keep  within  bounds,  and  not  al- 
low sentiment  to  run  away  with  their  better  judg- 
ment." 

And  this  profound  exposition  of  conversatism  in 
religion  finds  a  ready  response  in  the  minds  of  many 
other  Nicodemuses.  As  Bishop  Watson  'says,  th6 
tendency  is  to  lower  the  rule  to  the  practice  rather  than 
raise  the  practice  to  the  rule.  Thus  it  is  that  the  leaven 
of  conservative  Christianity  works  its  way  through  the 
church,  and  the  tribe  of  Nicodemus  multiplies  and  be- 
comes great  and  powerful.  And  thus  it  is  that  a  large 
and  influential  section  of  the  church  leaves  Christ  to 
follow  Nicodemus,  and  actually  lapses  into  Judaism. 

CONSERVATIVE   IN   RELIGION   ONLY. 

Now  the  Nicodemuses  are  not  so  very  conserva- 
tive about  other  matters.  In  business,  politics  or  social 
affairs,  they  are  the  veriest  enthusiasts.  On  the  subject 
of  money  they  are  usually  "extremists,"  or  "cranks" 
of  the  most  ultra  type.  Into  it  each  one  he  will  throw  his 
whole  soul,  and  in  getting  it  will  be  "instant  in  season, 
out  of  season."  No  day  is  too  hot,  cold  or  long  for 
them  when  persuing  the  treasures  of  earth.  In  fact, 
from  the  standpoint  of  Christ,  who  advises  us  to  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  not  to  lay  up  treas- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  83 

ures  on  earth,  these  people  are,  on  the  money  ques- 
tion, cranks  of  the  first  water.  They  are  money- 
maniacs,  and  sacrifice  time,  health,  peace  of  mind,  and 
sometimes  honor  itself,  on  the  altars  of  mammon. 
And  their  gains  are  not  used  for  suffering  humanity, 
as  they  must  have  been  had  they  been  "Born  Again." 

All  they  will  part  with  is  just  enough  to  maintain 
themselves  in  society  and  the  church.  All  they  can 
scrape  together,  they  monopolize  for  themselves  and 
convert  to  their  own  uses.  No  doubt  they  sometimes 
pity  the  poor,  and  wonder  why  they  are  so.  But  like 
Nicodemus,  they  cannot  see  what  they  have  to  do 
with  all  this  distress  or  to  see  how  it  is  incumbent  on 
them  to  do  anything  about  it,  or  to  see  that  they  hold 
any  responsible  relation  to  it.  Knowing  nothing  of 
the  New  Birth,  they  know  nothing  of  their  responsi- 
bility, and  can  no  more  see  these  things  than  they  can 
"see  the  kingdom  of  God/* 

The  things  just  referred  to  are  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  we  must  be  in  that  kingdom  in  order  to  see 
them.  It  can  also  be  said  that  the  only  way  to  get 
into  that  kingdom,  is  to  be  born  into  it.  We  must  be 
"to  the  manner  born,'*  or  else  we  are  strangers  and 
foreigners  thereto.  This,  it  will  be  said,  is  radical 
language,  but  so  is  that  of  Christ.  There  is  no  com- 
promise that  can  be  made  in  this  regard  without  drag- 
ging the  church  down  to  the  level  of  the  world.  All 
attempts  to  smooth  the  way  into  the  church  by  modi- 
fying the  language  of  Christ  on  this  or  any  other 


84  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

requirement,  is  bound  to  bring  reproach  and  disaster. 

It  is  this  great  doctrine  of  being  born  of  the  Spirit 
of  God,  that  most  distinguishes  Christianity  from  all 
other  religions,  and  makes  it  a  vital,  aggressive,  con- 
quering power  in  the  world.  It  was  the  impulse  of 
this  doctrine  that  carried  the  primative  church  through 
fire  and  blood,  and  enabled  it  with  no  other  weapon 
to  vanquish  the  greatest  military  power  ever  known. 

But  what  are  WE  doing  about  it?  We  are  in- 
ferentially  echoing  the  "How  can  these  things  be"  of 
Nicodemus.  Softly  is  the  negation  allowed  from  many 
a  sacred  desk.  Slyly  is  it  murmured  down  the  line  of 
those  who  "have  come  out  boldly  on  the  Lord's  side." 
The  quiet  ignoring  of  this  great  doctrine  that  so  pal- 
pably distinguishes  the  Christian  religion  from  every 
other,  is  driving  the  common  people  from  our  altars. 
It  lulls  to  sleep  every  divinely  aroused  impulse  that 
would  lead  us  away  from  the  dubious  Nicodemus  and 
back  to  Christ. 

NOT  ALL  OF  NICODEMUS. 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  Tribe  of  Nico- 
demus is  composed  entirely  of  rich  men.  Not  by  any 
means.  Poverty  is  no  badge  of  Christianity,  else  the 
millenium  would  now  be  at  our  door.  Neither  are  all 
the  rich  members  of  his  cult.  Christ  said  that  it  would 
be  hard  for  the  rich  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
but  did  not  say  they  could  not  nor  that  they  should 
not.  It  is  simply  hard  for  them — harder  than  for  a 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  85 

poor  man.  But  many  of  them,  thank  God,  have  en- 
tered the  kingdom  by  seeking  and  obtaining  the  New 
Birth.  They  rejoice  in  holding  their  wealth  simply  as 
the  stewards  of  Christ.  It  is  His  and  not  theirs.  They 
use  it  as  those  who  expect  to  give  an  account  of  their 
stewardship. 

LEARNING  FROM  NICODEMUS. 

We  could  all  learn  a  lesson  from  Nicodemus  if 
we  would.  This  reference  is  to  his  introductory 
speech.  It  was  undoubtedly  correct.  Christ  Himself 
tacitly  accepted  it  as  such.  * 'Rabbi,  we  know  that 
Thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God:  for  no  man  can 
do  these  miracles  that  Thou  doest  except  God  be  with 
him."  His  reasoning  so  far  is  unassailable.  If  Christ 
could  perform  miracles,  he  was  a  TEACHER  WHO 
COULD  SPEAK  WITH  AUTHORITY.  So  with 
every  one  who  can  perform  miracles,  whether  of  heal- 
ing or  of  anything  else.  Let  one  appear  who  can  fur- 
nish unmistakable  evidences  that  he  can  heal  the  sick 
by  means  of  divine  interposition,  and  we  will  all  hail 
him  as  *'a  teacher  come  from  God/' 

There  is  a  man  who  claims  to  represent  St.  Peter, 
and  there  are  millions  who  believe  him  to  be  infallible. 
If  he  could  DO  the  WORKS  of  St.  Peter,  we  would 
all  follow  his  lead.  The  "Age  of  Miracles*'  has  not 
passed,  and  never  will  pass;  but  the  age  in  which  men 
were  deputized  to  perform  miracles,  has  passed  with 
the  men  who  were  qualified  to  speak  with  authority 


86  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

as  the  mouth-piece  of  Christ  on  earth.  It  does  not  re- 
quire a  course  of  reasoning  to  show  the  one  of  ordi- 
nary sense  that  it  would  not  do  to  give  the  power  to 
perform  miracles  to  any  one  who  is  not  so  qualified. 
Prima  facia,  therefore,  those  who  pretend  to  cast  out 
devils,  bestow  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  or  heal  dis- 
eases, are  either  mistaken  in  their  own  powers,  or  are 
fakes.  Let  them  prove  their  powers  in  the  way  the 
Apostles  did,  and  then  we  will  blieve  them.  Let 
them  show  us  palpable  miracles  or  quit  pretending. 
If  they  can  do  this,  we  will  eagerly  listen  to  whatever 
they  may  say  as  coming  from  God  Himself. 

"REPENT  YE!" 

So  far  as  indicated  by  the  accounts  in  the  Gos- 
pels, the  net  results  of  this  first  missionary  tour  of 
Christ,  were  the  driving  of  the  speculators  from  the 
temple,  arousing  the  antagonism  of  the  rulers,  and 
a  night  conference  with  a  lone  Rabbi  who,  when  told 
what  he  must  do  to  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  gave 
as  his  final  answer,  "How  can  these  things  be?" 

There  were,  however,  many  at  the  passover,  we 
are  told,  who,  when  they  saw  the  miracles  He  did,  be- 
lieved on  Him.  "But,"  adds  the  account,  "Jesus  did 
not  commit  Himself  unto  them."  That  is,  He  did  not 
announce  Himself  to  them  as  the  Christ.  He  simply 
showed  Himself  to  the  rulers  and  the  people,  doing 
the  works  of  the  Messiah  and  leaving  them  to  judge. 
It  was  their  place  to  know.  Especially  was  this  ob- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  87 

ligation  one  to  be  discharged  by  the  rulers,  as  they  as- 
sumed to  lead  public  thought. 

But  they  rejected  Him,  and  He  now  turns  to  the 
common  people,  for  it  is  plain  that  those  who  should 
give  Him  the  prestige  of  their  endorsement,  will  be 
His  strongest  antagonists.  He  must  fight  His  battles 
alone.  There  is  none  to  help,  and  His  own  arm  must 
bring  Him  deliverance.  With  this  in  view,  He  now 
turns  to  the  common  people,  and  begins  to  instruct 
them  in  the  principles  of  His  kingdom.  But  before 
persuing  this  idea,  let  us  consider  His  manner  of 
preaching. 

He  spends  about  eight  months  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Judea,  the  only  record  of  which  is  that  He 
tarried  there  with  His  disciples  and  baptized.  At  the 
same  time,  John  was  baptizing  in  Enon  near  Salem, 
* 'because  there  was  much  water  there."  At  this  time 
the  Pharisees  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  make 
trouble  between  Christ  and  John.  In  this  they  suc- 
ceeded only  in  drawing  from  John  an  unqualified  en- 
dorsement of  Christ.  Amongst  other  things  he  said: 
"This  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Savior  of  the  world." 

Mark  tells  us  in  his  first  chapter,  that  after  John 
was  put  in  prison,  "Jesus  came  into  Gallilee,  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and  saying 
"The  time  is  fulfilled  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at 
hand:  repent  yet  and  believe  the  Gospel."  The  key 
note  of  this  text  is  "REPENT  YE  AND  BELIEVE 
THE  GOSPEL."  The  words  before  these  are  simply 


88  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

introductory.  It  seems  to  be  thought  by  some  that 
the  preaching  of  repentance  was  simply  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  advent  of  Christ.  That  John,  as  the  avant- 
courier  of  Christ,  preached  repentance  in  anticipation 
of  His  coming,  but  that  when  He  came,  this  ended 
the  preaching  of  repentance,  and  thereafter  salvation 
was  by  faith  alone. 

How  such  a  notion  could  gain  credance,  is  a 
mystery  except  on  the  theory  of  Satanic  suggestion. 
It  defeats  the  very  purpose  which  Christ  came  to  ac- 
complish. It  heads  off  the  initial  requirement  of  the 
New  Birth,  and  thereby  bars  entrance  to  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  sooner  is  John's 
voice  smothered  in  prison,  than  Jesus  Himself  takes 
up  the  cry,  and  sounds  it  on. 

But  first,  because  first  in  point  of  time,  let  us  get 
the  language  of  John:  "But  when  he  saw  many  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Saducees  coming  to  the  baptism,  he 
said  unto  them,  "O  generation  of  vipers,  who  hath 
warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come?  Bring 
forth,  therefore,  fruits  meet  for  repentance,  and  think 
not  to  say  within  yourselves,  'We  have  Abraham  for 
our  father*;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  God  is  able  of 
these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham." 

So  much  for  John.  Soon  after  his  imprisonment, 
Jesus  sent  out  the  twelve,  doubtless  to  help  cover  the 
field  left  vacant  by  the  imprisonment  of  John.  He 
gave  them  the  same  text,  "And  they  went  out,  and 
preached  that  men  should  repent."  As  before  stated, 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  89 

He  took  up  the  same  theme  Himself,  saying,  "The 
time  is  fulfilled,  'that  is  the  Christ  of  whom  John  spake 
has  come,*  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand;  RE- 
PENT YE  and  believe  the  Gospel." 

Now  the  people  of  that  day  thought  that  if  mis- 
fortune befell  any  one,  it  was  because  they  were  sin- 
ners. Also  they  took  to  themselves  the  consolation 
if  they  escaped  calamity,  that  it  was  a  sign  that  they 
were  justified  of  God.  Full  of  this  notion  some  told 
Jesus  of  the  Gallileans  whose  blood  Pilate  mingled 
with  their  sacrifices.  To  this  He  replied:  "Suppose 
ye  that  these  Galllileans  were  sinners  above  all  Gal- 
lileans because  they  suffered  these  things?  I  tell  ye 
Nay,  but  except  ye  REPENT  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish.  Or  those  eighteen  on  whom  the  tower  of 
Siloam  fell  and  slew  them,  think  ye  that  they  were 
sinners  above  all  men  that  dwell  in  Jerusalem?  I  tell 
you  Nay,  but  except  ye  REPENT,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish/'  "I  say  unto  you  that  likewise  joy  shall  be  in 
heaven  over  one  sinner  that  REPENTETH,  more  than 
over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons  which  need  no  re- 
pentance." 

HANDED  DOWN  TO  US. 

To  show  that  this  great  and  absolutely  neces- 
sary doctrine  of  Repentance,  must  be  persisted  in  until 
the  end,  the  very  day  of  his  Ascension  Christ  said 
to  the  Apostles:  "Thus  it  is  written  and  thus  it  be- 
hooved Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  arise  from  the  dead 


90  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

the  third  day,  and  that  REPENTANCE  and  remission 
of  sins,  should  be  preached  in  His  name  among  all  na- 
tions, beginning  at  Jerusalem,  and  ye  are  the  witnesses 
of  these  things." 

But  what  is  meant  by  the  preaching  of  reptent- 
ance,  and  after  what  manner  shall  it  be  done?  The 
answer  is  after  the  same  manner  as  it  was  preached 
by  Christ.  We  have  a  way  of  preaching  it  in  a  general 
kind  of  way,  but  Christ  did  it  specifically.  We  have 
a  habit  of  simply  saying  that  men  ought  to  repent  of 
their  sins,  but  leave  them  in  ignorance  as  to  just  what 
is  meant.  Or,  if  we  particularize  at  all,  we  do  it  by 
emphasizing  some  little  thing,  such  as  a  failure  to  keep 
some  church  requirement.  Christ,  however,  left  no 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  His  hearers  as  to  what  sins  He 
had  in  mind.  In  our  way  of  preaching  repentance  we 
exactly  illustrate  what  Christ  charged  to  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  towit,  that  of  tithing  mint  and  annis 
and  cummin,  and  neglecting  the  weightier  matters  of 
the  law,  Judgment,  Mercy  and  Faith. 

A  PHILIPIC 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  the  preaching  of 
Christ:  'Then  spoke  Jesus  to  the  multitude,  and  to 
His  disciples,  saying,  'The  scribes  and  Pharisees  sit  in 
Moses*  seat,  all  therefore,  whatsoever  they  bid  you 
observe,  that  observe  and  do.  But  do  not  after  their 
works,  for  they  say  and  do  not.  For  they  bind  heavy 
burdens,  and  heavy  to  be  borne  and  lay  them  on  men's 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  91 

shoulders,  but  they  themselves  will  not  move  them 
with  one  of  their  fingers.  But  all  their  works  they  do 
to  be  seen  of  men.  They  make  broad  their  phylac- 
teries, and  enlarge  the  borders  of  their  garments,  and 
love  the  uppermost  rooms  at  feasts,  and  the  chief  seats 
in  the  synagogues,  and  greetings  in  the  markets,  and 
to  be  called  'Rabbi,  Rabbi/  *  *  *  But  woe 
unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  for  ye 
shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men.  For  ye 
neither  go  in  yourselves,  neither  suffer  ye  them  that 
are  entering  to  go  therein.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  hyprocrites,  for  ye  devour  widow's  houses, 
and  for  a  pretense  make  long  prayers.  Therefore  ye 
shall  receive  the  greater  damnation.  Woe  unto  you, 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  hyprocrites,  for  ye  compass  sea 
and  land  to  make  one  proselyte,  and  when  he  is  made, 
ye  make  him  two-fold  more  the  child  of  hell  than 
yourselves.  *  *  *  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  hyprocrites,  for  ye  pay  tithes  of  mint  and 
annis  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy  and  faith.  These 
ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  un- 
done. Ye  blind  guides  that  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swal- 
low a  camel.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites,  for  ye  make  clean  the  out  side  of  the  cup 
and  the  platter,  but  within  they  are  full  of  extortion 
and  excess.  Thou  blind  Pharisee,  cleanse  first  that 
which  is  within  the  cup  and  the  platter,  that  the  out- 
side of  them  may  be  clean  also.  Woe  unto  you,  scribes 


92          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  for  ye  are  like  unto  whited 
sepulchers,  which  indeed  appear  beautiful  outwardly, 
but  are  within  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and  all  un- 
cleanness.  Even  so,  ye  outwardly  appear  righteous 
unto  men,  but  ye  are  full  of  hypocracy  and  iniquity. 
Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  be- 
cause ye  build  the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  and  garnish 
the  sepulchers  of  the  righteous,  and  say,  *If  we  had 
been  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have 
been  partakers  with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets.' 
Wherefore  ye  be  witnesses  unto  yourselves,  that  ye 
are  the  children  of  them  that  killed  the  prophets.  Fill 
ye  up  the  measure  of  your  fathers,  ye  serpents,  ye 
generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damna- 
tion of  hell." 

What  a  philipic  is  here!  Where  in  all  literature 
can  you  find  its  equal?  After  two  thousands  years, 
it  stands  without  a  rival.  Its  parallel  does  not  exist. 
What  fearful  language!  and  what  a  climax!  It  is  the 
master  piece  of  all  denunciations. 

And  we  must  not  forget  that  this  sermon  had  di- 
rect reference  to  the  leaders  of  the  religious  thought 
of  that  day.  As  He  tells  His  disciples  and  the  as- 
sembled multitude,  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  sat  in 
Moses*  seat.  They  were  the  pillars  of  orthodoxy. 
They  held  to  the  correct  doctrine,  but  were  them- 
selves bad. 

It  does  not  follow  from  the  language  of  this  ser- 
mon, that  it  was  spoken  in  anger.  On  the  contrary  it 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  93 

was  probably  uttered  in  pity.  Thus  some  callous 
heart  might  be  reached,  and  some  seared  conscience 
aroused.  For  the  only  way  to  make  a  sinner  feel  the 
enormity  of  his  sin  is  to  bring  it  directly  home  to 
him.  He  must  be  made  to  realize  that  selfishness  is 
the  tap-root  of  all  sin,  and  that  it  must  be  eradicated 
or  there  can  be  no  salvation.  It  takes  deep  digging  to 
lift  it  out,  but  in  order  to  free  his  own  skirts,  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  must  do  this. 

Paul  was  brought  before  Felix,  and  you  would 
naturally  suppose  that  he  would  talk  very  softly  to 
him,  using  all  available  "tact"  in  doing  this;  for  Felix 
had  it  within  his  power  to  deliver  Paul  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  Jews.  But  just  the  contrary  took  place. 
Paul  began  to  talk  with  him,  not  in  a  way  to  molify 
him  as  his  judge,  but  to  convict  him  of  sin.  And  it 
is  recorded  that  as  Paul  "reasoned  of  righteousness, 
temperance  and  judgment  to  come,  Felix  trembled." 
Here  we  have  the  judge  on  the  bence  actually  tried 
and  convicted  by  a  prisoner  in  the  dock,  and  this  is 
just  the  kind  of  preaching  that  has  always  brought  men 
to  their  knees  before  God. 

But  such  preaching  we  are  told  would  wreck  our 
churches,  and  it  may  be  that  if  the  pastor  of  the  aver- 
age church  should  copy  after  the  above  sermon  of 
Christ,  or  after  that  of  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
he  might  soon  find  himself  without  a  congregation.  It 
might  leave  his  church  a  strranded  wreck  on  the  shoals 
of  financial  disaster.  But  that  would  depend  on  the 


94  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

number  of  scribes  and  Pharisees  to  be  found  in  his 
congregation. 

It  is  a  fashion  with  some  preachers  of  the  Gospel 
to  give  a  series  of  sermons,  say  on  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  This  is  well,  and  perhaps  as  it  should  be. 
But  where  is  the  pastor  who  has  the  moral  force  to  give 
a  series  of  sermons  covering  the  points  brought  out  in 
the  sermon  above  quoted?  One  great  lack  with  us 
today  is  that  we  fail  to  attack  from  the  pulpit  the  really 
serious  sins  of  the  day,  and  especially  such  as  are 
peculiar  to  members  of  the  church. 

But  Jesus  did  not  speak  with  such  severity  when 
talking  to  the  common  sinner.  When,  however,  He 
reproved  degenerate  professors  of  religion,  He  became 
seemingly  the  minister  of  wrath.  They  could  not  "say 
and  do  not"  with  His  consent.  If  a  man  assumed  the 
responsibilities  incident  to  a  profession  of  religion,  he 
must  walk  in  accord  with  its  principles.  And  herein 
let  us  frankly  consider  some  of  the  things  that  go  to 
weaken  our  churches: — 

One  is  the  sharp  competition  between  the  various 
denominations,  which  tends  to  relax  the  requirements 
of  admission.  It  is  not  an  unusual  sight  to  see  the 
doors  of  a  church  thrown  wide  open,  and  a  general 
invitation  given  for  any  and  every  body  to  enter.  Not 
only  so,  but  the  invitation  is  often  backed  up  by  an 
urgent  and  even  vehement  exhortation,  under  which 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  Nicodemus,  Ananias, 
Saphira  and  even  Judas  Iscariot  himself  could  enter 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  95 

and  be  welcomed.  In  fact  the  impression  is  left  that 
the  Lord  stands  sadly  in  need  of  them.  And  if  this 
particular  church  is  one  in  which  membership  has  con- 
siderable social,  political  or  financial  value,  the  pastor 
is  apt  to  make  a  catch  of  one  or  more  of  these  worthies. 
For  if  his  satanic  majesty  does  not  take  advantage  of 
such  chances,  he  lacks  the  intelligence  with  which  he  is 
generally  credited.  What  more  powerful  position 
could  he  occupy  than  that  of  a  pillar  in  the  church?  It 
goes  without  saying  that  he  joins  it  every  good  oppor- 
tunity thus  afforded.  But  co-operating  with  this 
rivalry  of  the  churches,  and  operating  in  exactly  the 
same  way,  is  the  habit  we  have  of  carrying  on  "re- 
vivals," and  herein  of 

THE  CHURCH  PROMOTOR. 

These  pests  swarm  over  the  land  like  the  locusts 
of  Egypt.  Their  business  is  to  travel  and  hold  "spe- 
cial services"  in  the  interest  of  all  who  will  hire  them. 
Recognizing  the  fact  that  the  standard  by  which  they 
are  judged  is  that  of  increasing  the  membership  of 
the  churches  employing  them,  they  shape  their  course 
accordingly. 

It  is  especially  interesting  to  note  the  manner  in 
which  they  deal  with  the  subject  of  repentance.  As 
taught  by  Christ,  it  is  an  exceedingly  painful  process, 
especially  in  a  hardened  sinner.  It  involves  sacrifices 
that  are  hard  to  make.  There  are  distressing  diffi- 
culties about  it  that  our  promoter  finds  are  hard  to 


96  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

overcome.  There  must  of  course  be  brought  home  to 
the  consciousness  a  conviction  of  sin.  His  hearers 
must  not  only  be  made  to  realize  that  they  are  theore- 
tical, but  actual  sinners  as  well. 

And  the  deep,  dark  and  heinous  nature  of  his 
sin  must  be  forced  upon  him.  And  this  is  not  all;  he 
must  have  a  genuine  and  heartfelt  sorrow  for  his  sins, 
both  of  omission  and  commission.  Furthermore,  the 
sorrow  for  sin  must  finally  reach  the  point  where  it 
is  not  coupled  with  fear  of  consequences.  It  may 
start  in  that,  but  such  a  condition  is  one  of  awaken- 
ing, only.  True  repentance  is  a  "Godly  sorrow  foe 
sin,"  being  born  of  a  consciousness  of  having  violated 
God's  Law.  Where  this  exists,  it  always  results  in 
being  born  of  the  Spirit.  Without  it  there  can  be  no 
New  Birth. 

One  who  so  repents  will  believe  with  all  his 
heart,  but  those  who  fail  in  this  will  stand  around  with 
Nicodemus,  and  sneer  "how  can  these  things  be?" 
On  this  initial  point  Christ  makes  demands  of  us 
which  involve  a  reversal  of  the  habitual  course  of  our 
thoughts,  emotions  and  impulses.  The  point  He 
makes  is  that  we  shall  love  the  good  we  now  hate,  and 
hate  the  evil  that  we  now  love.  It  is  at  this  point  the 
New  Birth  takes  place,  and  at  which  old  things  pass 
away  and  all  things  become  new. 

But  your  professional  promoter  does  not  seem 
to  take  this  view  of  it.  He  has  a  peculiar  theology  all 
his  own.  It  seems  entirely  independent  of  Christ, 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  97 

being  invented  for  and  peculiarly  adapted  to  "re- 
vival** meetings.  In  fact  it  is  not  suited  for  any  other 
occasion.  It  certainly  will  not  stand  the  strain  of 
every  day  life.  To  begin  with,  he  seldom  mentions 
the  subject  of  repentance,  except  in  a  casual  way,  for 
ke  knows  full  well  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  sinners  to 
repent.  If  he  speaks  of  sin  at  all,  it  is  in  a  general  and 
perfunctory  manner.  So  far  as  neglect  of  one*s  duty 
to  the  church  is  concerned,  He  lays  it  on  hard,  brings 
out  his  "yard-stick,"  made  for  just  such  occasions, 
and  proceeds  to  apply  it  to  his  congregation.  The  con- 
clusion from  his  measurement  will  be  that  those  who 
have  failed  to  unite  with  the  church,  are  in  danger  of 
committing  the  unpardonable  sin. 

The  destructive  sin  of  hate,  the  hideous  sin  of 
cruelty,  the  devouring  sin  of  greed,  the  infamous 
crimes  of  dishonesty,  deception  and  hyprocracy,  are 
all  overshadowed  in  the  one  theme  of  uniting  with 
the  church.  Just  the  very  things  that  Christ  emphasiz- 
ed, he  entirely  ignores,  and  just  the  very  things  that 
Christ  minified,  he  magnifies  and  emphasizes.  In 
other  words,  he  is  of  those  whom  Christ  characterized 
as  straining  at  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel,  and  as 
tithing  mint  and  annis  and  cummin,  and  neglecting  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy  and 
faith.  (I  ought  in  all  good  conscience  to  give  him 
credit  for  emphasizing  "faith,"  though  not  of  the  kind 
Christ  demanded.  In  fact  a  peculiar  brand  of  faith  is 
one  of  his  specialties.) 


98  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  exhortation,  he  makes 
many  propositions  to  his  hearers.  All  these  are  in- 
tended to  induce  them  to  make  some  demonstration 
by  which  to  commit  themselves  in  some  fashion.  By 
a  carefully  devised  and  skillfully  carried  out  scheme 
of  this  kind,  he  is  enabled  to  report  at  the  end  of  the 
meeting  so  many  "conversions'  (!)  and  so  many 
"added  to  the  church." 

Under  the  head  of  "Conversions'*  all  are  count- 
ed who  in  any  manner  responded  to  any  of  his  propo- 
sitions, such  as  coming  forward  and  shaking  hands, 
rising  in  their  seats  or  even  raising  their  hands  as  in 
assent  to  something  proposed.  Those  who  are  finally 
induced  to  join  the  church,  are  lead  to  believe  that 
the  "faith"  he  speaks  of  is  the  first  and  last  require- 
ment. According  to  the  promoter's  theology  this 
faith  "covers  a  multitude  of  sins."  It  fills  the  full 
measure  of  righteousness.  It  is  the  Law,  the  Prophets 
and  the  Gospel  all  combined.  It  is  made  the  real 
condition  of  salvation,  (after  you  first  join  the  church, 
of  course.)  All  else  is  merely  incidental. 

This,  however,  does  not  appear  in  the  words  as 
stated  above.  It  all  comes  out  by  way  of  emphasis, 
which  is  taken  from  repentance,  where  Christ  left  it, 
and  deftly  placed  on  what  our  promoter  terms 
"faith."  The  reason  for  this  is  not  hard  to  find.  It  is 
much  easier  and  far  less  expensive  to  have  this  kind 
of  "faith"  than  to  repent,  in  the  way  Christ  requires. 
It  being  natural  for  us  to  choose  the  easier  alternative, 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  99 

our  promoter  makes  a  "hit"  by  "gathering  many  into 
the  fold/' 

But  if  the  question  were  raised  on  these  pro- 
moters, they  would  resent  the  imputation  that  they  do 
not  preach  repentance,  and  so  they  do,  of  the  kind 
hereinto  referred  to,  but  not  after  the  manner  of 
Christ  nor  of  the  Apostles  after  him.  They  emphasized 
it  with  such  great  and  persistant  urgency  that  no  one 
could  mistake.  As  preached  by  them,  repentance, 
and  that  of  the  kind  your  promoter  ignores,  was  vital. 
It  was  by  them  made  the  one  primary  condition.  No 
one  could  even  make  a  start  Christward  without  it. 
We  have  a  genuine  sorrow  for  our  sins — must  make 
restitution — must  cease  to  do  evil  and  learn  to  do 
well — must  "bring  forth  fruits  mete  for  repentance." 

But  it  is  well  known  that  this  frequently  inter- 
feres with  business  arrangements.  That  it  is  liable  to 
entail  great  financial  losses,  and  perhaps  of  social 
position.  It  is,  however,  natural  that  we  should  shrink 
from  such  prospects  and  hold  on  to  the  old  life.  It 
is  hard  to  get  sinners  to  truly  repent,  but  it  is  easy 
to  get  them  to  accept  belief,  or  what  they  call  "faith" 
as  a  substitute.  But  mere  belief  was  never  made  by 
Christ  a  condition  of  salvation,  but  a  means,  rather. 
Though  a  wonderful  power,  it  is  not  great  enough  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  one  who  refuses  to  repent.  Be- 
sides, in  these  days  we  do  not  need  to  be  so  vehement- 
ly exhorted  to  believe.  We  already  believe.  The 
great  necessity  is  reformation  as  the  result  of  repen- 


100  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

tance,   the    New    Birth,   a  nd    real  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

To  study  Christ,  and  preach  Him  as  He  appears 
in  the  Gospels, — this  is  what  we  need.  He  said  "My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,"  and  no  matter  how 
we  patch  up  our  theology  to  suit  the  world,  we  cannot 
change  this  fact. 

AN  INTERIM. 

According  to  the  current  chronology,  Jesus  devoted 
about  thirty  months  of  His  ministry  preparing  the 
minds  of  the  people  to  receive  His  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  Had  the  Jews  received  Him  when  He  pre- 
sented Himself  and  cleansed  the  Temple,  is  probable 
that  He  would  have  delivered  that  sermon  at  that 
time,  and  from  the  Temple  itself.  But  He  was  not 
received,  and  hence  it  became  necessary  to  bring  the 
minds  of  the  people  to  the  point  where  they  would 
accept  the  principles  of  His  kingdom.  This  was  a 
slow  process,  and  could  be  reached  only  by  degrees. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  an  epitome  of  all  doc- 
trine that  is  worth  knowing,  and  could  not  be  received 
by  the  masses  until  their  minds  had  been  thoroughly 
prepared  for  it. 

Hence  we  are  astonished  to  find,  that  when  the 
great  sermon  was  delivered,  about  three-fifths  of  His 
ministry,  so  far  as  time  was  concerned,  had  expired. 
More  astonishing  still,  is  the  fact  that  only  about  one- 
fifth  of  it  had  been  recorded.  About  one  whole  year 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  101 

is  left  unnoticed  by  any  except  John,  and  all  he  re- 
cords as  taking  place  during  that  time,  could  have 
transpired  in  about  five  days.  As  covering  the  time 
between  the  Temptation  and  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  Matthew  has  but  thirteen  verses. 

This  "year  °f  silence*'  seems  very  remarkable, 
and  one  naturally  wants  to  know  why  it  was.  Jesus 
being  the  Messiah,  all  He  did  or  said  must  have  been 
of  importance,  and  why  was  it  not  all  given?  It 
leaves  room  to  surmise  that  something  was  wrong 
with  the  Gospels,  or  with  the  things  said  or  done.  Or, 
it  might  be  imagined  that  but  little  transpired.  If 
such  were  the  case,  why? 

But  a  careful  study  will,  I  think,  disclose  the 
fact  that  there  is  probably  no  reality  in  any  of  these 
suppositions.  It  can  safely  be  assumed  that  Jesus  was 
not  idle  any  of  this  time.  He  had  His  work  to  do  and 
that  of  the  greatest  moment.  It  should  first  be  re- 
membered that  He  was  "sowing  the  seed  of  the  king- 
dom." The  people  must  be  prepared  by  instruction, 
not  only  as  intimated  for  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
but  also  to  receive  this  kingdom  at  the  hands  of  His 
Apostles  after  His  death,  resurrection  and  ascension. 
It  was  what  we  would  call  "a  campaign  of  education." 

But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  was  not  this  part  of 
His  teaching  as  important  for  us  to  know  as  any 
thing  else?  The  answer  is  simple,  and  lies  in  the  fact 
that  this  preparatory  work  concerned  the  Jews  only. 
It  related  to  the  peculiar  state  of  affairs  existing  among 


102  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

them  at  that  time.  The  scribes  were  the  supreme 
authority  in  the  law,  and  they  had  cumbered  it  with 
such  a  mass  of  tradition  as  to  almost  obscure  its 
original  meaning.  ThU  rubbish  must  be  cleared  away 
and  the  true  object,  scope  and  limitations  of  the  law 
must  be  made  clear.  They  had  taught  that  the  law 
should  remain  forever,  and  also  that  Messiah  should 
likewise  remain  forever,  to  administer  the  law,  and 
that  Jerusalem  should  thereby  become  the  capital  and 
metropolis  of  the  world. 

This  notion  was  to  them  the  most  sacred  of  all 
their  beliefs.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  unanimity 
of  public  sentiment  on  this  point,  and  also  that  the 
creators  and  leaders  of  Jewish  thought  never  for  an 
instant  ceased  to  insist  with  the  utmost  vehemence  on 
this  point,  we  are  in  a  position  to  realize  something 
of  the  magnitude  of  this  preparatory  work,  in  over- 
coming this  condition  of  the  public  mind. 

There  is  room  to  believe  that  even  John  the 
Baptist  shared  in  some  of  these  errors,  and  that  his 
arrest  by  Herod  was  to  some  extent  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  preached  the  coming  of  a  kingdom  that  would 
supplant  the  power  of  Rome.  But  however  this  may 
have  been,  it  is  certain  that  this  thought  possessed  the 
Jews  with  a  tenacity  that  would  have  baffled  any  but 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

He  must  show  them  that  He  came  neither  to  ad- 
minister nor  to  destroy  the  law,  but  solely  to  FULFILL 
it  We  find  Him  frequently  assuring  them  that  not 


one  jot  or  till*  of  the  law  should  pais  «w«v  until  n 
had  been  fulfilled,  They  murt  bo  gradually  brought 
to  iee  these  things  in  their  true  light  biforo  the  Sir- 
fflon  on  tl.r  Mount  could  bo  dellvurad  to  thitn,  and 
the  fallow  ground  of  thi  Jewish  mind  must  Aril  be 
broken  up  and  made  fit  to  receive  tho  liid  thereafter 
to  bo  town  by  tho  Apostles, 

Thui  it  may  bo  eonjeetured  that  naarly  all  tho 
teaching  of  Christ  during  this  "y*ar  of  aHonM/'  ai 

wr   -ll    it,    I    ll..     Jr.wa    only.    :,,„!    ,|,,,n    „„!    

cern  us  at  all.  1  lenc*  it  would  l>»  simply  a  mailer  of 
curiosity  to  tin.  AIM!  it  WM,,|,|  .1,,  .„  „,,  ,, I  IM  r.  i 

MHKncI       lip      II,       tl,-       inlri'Mh        n.,.|       nillh'    .    -I       n.,t,...,o       :..,•! 

N  v  traditions  of  tho  Bribes  and  Phariii^ii  for  thiiy 
were  the  ones  with  whom  Hi  had  moitly  to  §ontendi 
i  Uve  no  doubt,  however,  that  for  tht  benefit  of  in* 
>'  ii'i'nt  Jews,  a  general  outline  of  this  teaching  hai 
been  preserved  in  tho  Epistle  to  tho  Hibrtwii 

But  now,  by  constant  teaching  and  Incessant 
labor  Hi  has  at  last  broken  thi  graap  of  thi  scribes 
and  Pharisees  on  thi  mind  of  thi  common  people,  i> 
is  now  said  that  thi  common  people  hear  Him  gladly, 
Thi  impression  Hi  has  made  is  tremendous,  Hii 
name  hai  become  a  household  word*  Hi  Is  without  a 
peer  in  thi  popular  mind,  and  Hi  speaks  openly  "ai 

"'"        I-    ••'.,.:•      I-     •".   /         ""I      "•->        '         »»,.       ,,    ..I..   ,  II, » 

people  desert  their  synagogues,  and  iomi  to  Him  in 
vast  multitudes*  They  stream  to  Him  from  all  dime* 
tldtis,  even  from  Jeratulem,  thi  stronghold  of  thi 


104  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

scribes  and  Pharisees.  His  audience  includes  Gentiles 
as  well  as  Jews,  for  one  great  point  of  the  controversy 
that  has  been  going  on,  is  that  the  Jews  have  no 
monopoly  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

A  NEW  DOCTRINE. 

By  "doctrine,"  as  understood  by  us  today,  we 
mean  some  article  of  faith.  It  is  an  expression  of  our 
views  on  any  particular  religious  belief.  But  our  doc- 
trines of  today  for  the  most  part  concern  things  about 
which  He  had  nothing  to  say.  That  is  the  reason  why 
we  dispute  about  them  so  much.  That  is,  as  decisive 
of  the  subject  we  may  have  under  discussion,  there 
is  no  "thus  saith  the  Lord"  with  which  to  measure  it. 
That  is  also  the  reason  why  our  doctrines  relate  large- 
ly either  to  subjects  of  little  importance,  or  to  those 
of  interest  only  to  the  learned.  If  common  people 
were  under  the  necessity  of  solving  all,  or  even  a  tith 
of  them  before  being  saved,  their  final  doom  would 
be  assured. 

But  turning  from  these  creeds  to  Christ,  we  find 
that  our  task  of  understanding  is  made  very  easy.  His 
statement  of  "doctrine"  is  axiomatic.  He  makes  "the 
way  so  plain  that  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool 
shall  not  err  therein."  We  soon  find  that  His  is  not 
a  doctrine  of  theory,  but  of  practice...  His  doctrine 
pertains  to  the  inner  life  and  its  outward  expression. 
You  might  be  all  wrong  as  to  your  guesses  concern- 
ing the  Trinity,  election  and  reprobation,  baptism,  or 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  105 

any  other  of  the  kindred  questions  that  have  so  long 
divided  Christendom  into  hostile  camps,  and  still 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  knew  the  chief 
difficulty  was  in  the  heart  and  not  in  the  head.  He 
knew  that  whoever  did  the  will  of  his  Father  in 
heaven,  * 'would  know  of  the  doctrine,"  and  that  the 
great  difficulty  was  to  persuade  the  people  to 
recognize  and  do  that  will. 

But  how  different  was  the  current  theology  of 
that  day  to  such  a  doctrine!  How  strangely  unfamiliar 
must  His  first  utterances  in  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
have  sounded  on  the  ears  of  the  waiting  and  anxious 
multitude!  They  had  been  instructed  from  childhood 
that  "Cursed  is  he  who  continueth  not  in  all  things 
written  in  the  Law  to  do  them.*'  It  had  been  to  them 
a  dispensation  of  affliction.  Its  key  note  had  been 
the  thunderings  of  Sinai. 

We  are  told  that  there  were  "great  multitudes 
from  Gallilee,  and  from  Decapolis,  and  from  Jerusa- 
lem, and  from  Judea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan."  The 
wonder-working  Rabbi  had  at  last  gained  the  full  con- 
fidence of  the  masses,  and  they  were  ready  to  receive 
the  message  He  had  for  them.  What  would  He 
require  of  them?  They  waited  with  bated  breath 
that  they  might  hear  all  that  He  might  say.  No  such 
occasion  had  ever  presented  itself  since  Moses  came 
down  from  the  Mount  and  found  their  fathers  wor- 
shipping the  golden  calf.  The  day,  the  hour,  every 
instant  was  big  with  meaning  for  them  and  their  chil- 


106  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

dren.  They  were  like  prisoners  at  the  bar,  "waiting 
for  the  verdict."  What  would  it  be?  for  it  was  cer- 
tain that  this  was  the  Messiah,  and  that  He  held  their 
destinies  in  His  hands.  Would  it  still  be  "CURSED?" 
We  can  imagine  that  as  at  last  as  this  man  who 
held  the  issues  of  life  and  death  in  His  hands,  opened 
His  mouth  to  speak,  He  raised  His  hands  as  in  bene- 
diction, and  a  smile  lighting  up  His  face,  spread  as  a 
divine  halo  about  His  head.  Listen!  He  utters  the 
word  "BLESSED!"  What  music  that  to  ears  that 
had  been  attuned  only  to  "CURSED!"  and  this  word 
"BLESSED"  marks  the  change  from  the  OLD  to  the 
NEW.  A  new  turn  of  affairs,  and  a  new  day  has  at 
last  come,  and  a  new  kingdom  has  arisen!  To  the 
anxiously  waiting  multitude,  there  was  no  dawn  to 
this  first  day  of  the  New  Kingdom.  The  Sun  flashed 
suddenly  upon  it  in  full  sky.  At  the  first  word  of  the 
great  Rabbi,  every  cloud  rolled  away,  and  it  is  at  last 
seen  that  the  orb  of  day  had  been  beating  against 
them  all  the  time,  and  they  knew  it  not. 

But  listen  and  learn  who  are  the  "blessed."  "Bless- 
ed are  the  POOR  IN  SPIRIT,  for  theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  God."  What  a  burden  did  that  short  sen- 
tence roll  from  many  a  weary  and  saddened  heart! 
A  great  wave  of  relief  passes  over  this  human  sea.  He 
waits  for  it  to  reach  the  fartherest  limits  of  the  multi- 
tude. The  sensation  it  creates  is  like  that  of  an  elec- 
tric current  proceeding  from  Him  as  a  human  dynamo. 
But  hark! — He  speaks  again:  "Blessed  are  they 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  107 

that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted."  Ah,  that 
is  Gospel  indeed.  "They  that  mourn," — what  a  mul- 
titude that  covers!  And  it  is  so  strange  and  new  to 
connect  mourning  with  blessing.  "They  shall  be  com- 
forted,"— what  volumes  of  tenderness  it  speaks  to 
the  sorrowing. 

But  the  Rabbi  continues:  "Blessed  are  the 
meek,  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth." 

Blessed  are  they  that  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled. 

Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God. 

Blessed  are  the  peace  makers,  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God. 

It  can  easily  be  imagined  that  by  this  time  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees  become  livid  with  anger.  They 
are  in  a  rage  as  they  see  the  mutitude  hanging  with 
rapture  upon  the  words  or  the  Nazarene.  Turning 
now  upon  these  enemies  of  His  until  all  eyes  are 
riveted  upon  them,  He  says:  "Blessed  are  they  which 
are  persecuted  for  righteousness*  sake,  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall 
revile  you  and  persecute  you  and  shall  say  all  manner 
of  evil  against  you  falsely  for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and 
be  exceedingly  glad,  for  great  is  your  reward  in  hea- 
ven. For  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were 
before  you." 

Thus  starting  with  a  benediction,  he  ends  with  a 
hallelujah.  Between  the  two,  and  covering  every 


108  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

contingency  that  could  arise,  bliss  reigns  in  all  its 
beautitude.  And  the  wonder  of  it  is  that  it  comes  to 
the  reviled,  the  persecuted,  the  poor  in  spirit  and  them 
that  mourn.  What  a  splendid  creed,  and  what  a  cate- 
chism for  the  children! 

Question:     Who  are  the  Blessed? 
Answer:     The  poor  in  spirit. 
They  that  mourn. 
The  meek. 
They  which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 

righteousness. 
The  merciful. 
The  pure  in  heart. 
The    peacemakers. 

They  which  are  persecuted   for  right- 
eousness*   sake. 
When  are  ye  blessed? 

Answer:  When  men  shall  revile  you  and  per- 
secute you  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you 
FALSELY,  FOR  CHRIST'S  SAKE. 

What  are  such  people  to  do?  Are  they  to  re- 
vile again? 

Answer:     No,  they  are  to  REJOICE  and  be  EX- 
CEEDINGLY GLAD. 
Why? 

Answer:  Because  great  is  their  reward  in  heaven. 

It  will  be  observed  that    here    are  four  blessings, 

that  signify  states  or  conditions,   to-wit:   the  poor  in 

spirit,  the  meek,  the  merciful  and  the  pure  in  heart.. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  109 

Then  there  are  three,  to-wit:  they  that  mourn,  they 
that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  and  the 
peacemakers,  that  represent  action.  The  last  two,  the 
persecuted  and  reviled,  represent  that  which  the 
world  gives  in  exchange  for  the  preceding  seven. 

TRUE  ORTHODOXY. 

But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  a  homily  on 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  comment  made  is 
given  only  to  call  attention  to  the  change  it  made  in 
the  thought  and  feeling  of  the  world.  It  is  its  own 
commentary,  and  as  the  constitution  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, it  stands  as  the  authority  for  the  settlement  of 
all  questions  worth  settling.  It  is  the  only  true  doc- 
trine— the  real  orthodoxy.  To  carry  it  into  effect 
would  be  to  bring  the  Golden  Age,  when  nothing 
would  hurt  in  all  God's  Holy  Mountain.  It  stands  as 
the  first  and  only  complete  expression,  of  God's  will 
toward  man.  Therefore,  like  its  divine  author,  it  can 
have  no  rival. 

Both  in  spirtual  and  temporal  affairs,  it  is  a  sure 
and  safe  guide.  It  shows  how  to  live  in  harmony  with 
the  divine  law,  and  still  get  on  in  the  world.  It  is  as 
complete  from  the  standpoint  of  business  as  of  grace. 
Nothing  is  left  out.  It  was  intended  for  every  condi- 
tion of  life.  It  is  for  the  use  of  those  who  are  engaged 
in  the  struggle  for  existence.  For  those  who  are  bur- 
dened with  responsibility,  but  who  are  loyal  through 
it  all  to  Christ.  Knowing  that  this  is  hard  to  do,  He 


110  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

has  in  this  discourse  furnished  us  with  an  equipment 
that  makes  us  equal  to  the  task. 

Not  that  it  removes  our  difficulties,  but  that  it 
provides  the  means  with  which  to  deal  with  them. 
With  grace  and  backbone  and  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  we  may  successfully  meet  every  contingency. 
But  it  offers  no  promise  to  any  but  those  described 
in  the  Beautitudes.  It  is  for  their  sole  and  only  use 
and  behoof.  The  promise  goes  only  with  the  com- 
mandment. In  other  words,  His  kingdom  though  in 
the  world,  is  not  of  the  world.  It  proceeds  strictly 
on  the  lines  laid  down  in  this  document.  So  long  as 
His  people  observe  and  do  whatsoever  is  therein 
written,  they  will  be  the  happiest  people  on  earth — 
in  other  words,  BLESSED. 

Such  people  will  like  Him,  stand  unmoved  in 
the  midst  of  the  tumults  of  life,  and  the  storm  shall 
beat  upon  them  in  vain.  They  can  say  with  the  great 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  "None  of  these  things  move 
me."  They  will  have  troubles,  and  perhaps  hard 
ones,  but  theirs  will  be  the  compensations  of  victory. 
These  constitute  the  only  true  Orthodoxy,  and  all 
others  are  hererodox,  no  matter  what  they  profess. 
Then  away  with  all  this  haggling  and  driveling  over 
theological  conundrums.  Let  us  turn  our  backs  on 
"doubtful  disputations,"  and  go  back  to  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  Here  we  can  touch  solid  ground,  or 
the  Rock  of  Ages,  rather,  for  hear  His  conclusion: 
"Every  one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  Mine,  and 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  111 

doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man  which 
built  his  house  upon  a  rock,  and  the  rain  descended 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat 
upon  that  house  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded 
upon  a  rock." 

SATAN  CAST  OUT. 

The  subject  of  demoniacale  possession  is  one 
that,  by  a  certain  class  of  writers,  is  handled  very 
gingerly.  They  generally  hasten  to  assure  their 
readers  that  they  are  not  at  all  impressed  with  the 
idea  that  those  who  are  said  to  have  been  possessed 
with  devils  were  as  a  matter  of  fact  so  possessed  with 
real  devils,  but  only  so  supposed  to  be  by  people  of 
that  day.  The  devils  mentioned  were  purely  imagin- 
ary. The  victims  were  in  fact  nothing  more  than  luna- 
tics. But  if  such  was  the  case,  there  is  no  reliance  to 
be  placed  on  the  accounts  of  the  Evangelists.  The 
language  of  Matthew,  for  instance,  is  specific  on  the 
subject.  Here  it  is:  "And  they  brought  unto  Him 
all  sick  people  that  were  taken  with  divers  diseases 
and  torments,  and  those  which  were  possessed  with 
devils,  and  those  which  were  lunatic,  and  those  which 
had  the  palsy,  and  He  healed  them."  Here  we  see 
those  possessed  with  devils  in  the  same  sentence 
spoken  of  in  contrast  with  those  who  were  lunatics. 
There  can  be  no  mistake  as  to  the  meaning  of  this 
passage.  Besides  there  were  many  cases  in  which  that 
which  possessed  their  victims  had  intelligence,  identity 


112  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

and  personality.  Christ  conversed  with  them.  As 
to  these  facts  there  cannot  be  the  least  shadow  of 
doubt.  It  is  made  so  plain  and  emphatic  that  it 
seems  impossible  even  to  raise  a  doubt  about  it. 

Christ  Himself  had  passed  through  the  ordeal  of 
a  person  conflict  with  Satan,  and  aside  from  His 
divine  character,  His  personal  knowledge  on  the  sub- 
ject must  outweigh  all  our  own  notions  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

After  delivering  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Jesus 
returned  to  Capernaum  followed  by  the  multitudes. 
After  healing  a  leper,  the  Centurian's  servant  and 
Peter's  mother-in-law,  they  brought  to  Him  many  that 
were  possessed  with  devils,  and  He  cast  them  out  with 
a  word.  It  is  no  use  to  deny  the  fact  that  Jesus  claim- 
ed to  cost  out  devils,  and  whoever  disputes  that  He 
did,  cannot  have  much  faith  in  other  things  related  of 
Him. 

It  must  have  seemed  strange  to  the  multitudes 
about  Him  that  in  the  midst  of  His  work  He  should 
leave  them  and  go  to  the  other  side  of  the  sea  into 
the  land  of  Gadara,  which  was  inhabited  with  a  half 
heathenish  people  who  were  herders  of  swine.  But 
He  had  a  great  work  to  do  over  there.  Two  misera- 
ble and  helpless  creatures  had  been  brought  into  cap- 
tivity by  devils,  and  He  must  go  and  set  them  at 
liberty.  They  were  exceedingly  fierce,  and  a  terror  to 
the  surrounding  country.  As  settling  the  question  as 
to  whether  or  not  they  were  merely  insane,  but  actual- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  113 

ly  possessed  with  devils,  Jesus  asks  one  of  them  his 
name,  and  is  told  that  it  is  "Legion."  The  fact  that 
they  were  permitted  to  enter  a  herd  a  swine,  which 
thereupon  ran  violently  into  the  sea,  shows  conclusive- 
ly that  whatever  it  was  that  possessed  the  demoniacs, 
it  had  entity  and  personality  of  its  own. 

The  fact  of  demoniacal  possession  and  the  cast- 
ing out  of  devils,  is  so  often  plainly  stated  in  the  evan- 
gelists, that  there  can  be  no  mistake  about  it.  The 
leaders  of  the  Jews  did  not  deny  that  they  were  cast 
out  by  Christ.  In  fact  they  affirmed  that  He  cast 
them  out  by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils,  and  right 
there  they  came  perilously  near  committing  the  un- 
pardonable sin  by  ascribing  the  works  of  God  to 
Satan.  Christ  spoke  of  His  casting  out  devils  as  a 
sign  of  his  messiahship.  In  fact  it  is  so  often  and 
planly  spoken  of  that  it  is  almost  sultifying  to  argue 
the  question. 

The  other  case  in  which  He  sought  out  an  op- 
portunity like  that  in  the  land  of  Gadara,  was  when 
He  went  into  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  This  case 
of  the  healing  of  the  daughter  of  the  woman  of 
Ganaan,  is,  in  some  respects,  the  most  impressive  of 
any  of  His  ministrations.  It  would  seem  from  the 
narrative,  that  He  did  not  go  there  to  minister  to  this 
woman,  and  at  first  He  actually  refused  her.  But  it 
was  the  only  transaction  He  had  in  that  country,  and 
hence  we  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  such  was 
His  sole  object.  His  seeming  hesitation  in  complying 


H4          THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

with  the  woman's  pleading  must  have  been  premedi- 
tated, and  with  the  purpose  of  granting  the  prayer 
from  the  start. 

One  important  fact  in  connection  with  this  oc- 
currence, is  that  it  is  the  only  instance  in  which  Christ 
suffered  Himself  to  be  overcome  in  argument.  As 
she  cried  after  Him,  He  "answered  her  not  a  word." 
But  she  continued,  and  His  disciples  became  worried, 
and  asked  Him  to  send  her  away.  "For,"  they  say, 
"she  crieth  after  us."  But  he  answered  her  and  said, 
"I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel."  To  this  she  still  plead,  "Lord  help  me." 
This  was  as  much  as  to  say,  "I  know  that  I  am  not  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  and  am  what  the  Jews  call  'a  gen- 
tile dog/  but  I  am  in  need.  My  daughter  is  grieviously 
vexed  with  a  devil."  At  this  Jesus  answers  her  in  a 
seemingly  cruel  manner.  "It  is  not  mete,"  He  said, 
"to  take  the  children's  bread  and  cast  it  to  the  dogs." 

Now  the  disciples  no  doubt  thought  that  she 
would  cease  to  trouble  them.  But  no,  on  the  contrary 
they  were  about  to  be  taught  the  power  of  real  faith. 
Her  answer  reminds  us  of  wresting  Jacob,  who  refused 
to  let  his  adversary  go  without  being  blessed  by  Him. 
It  was  the  sublimity  of  persistant  faith:  "Truth,  Lord, 
yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  crums  which  fall  from  the  mas- 
ter's table."  What  an  answer  and  how  remarkable 
the  response!  He  had  said  to  others,  "be  it  accord- 
ing to  thy  faith,"  but  to  this  gentile  woman  He  an- 
swered, "be  it  unto  thee  EVEN  AS  THOU  WILT!"  In 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  115 

other  words  this  was  carte  blanc.  "Even  as  thou 
wilt,"  and  persistent  faith  had  its  own  way.  Truly 
great  is  Faith  when  backed  by  the  spirit  shown  by  this 
poor  woman. 

The  being  possessed  by  a  devil  involved  personal 
contact  with  these  foul  and  hideous  enemies  of  God 
and  man.  It  follows  that  it  must  have  been  full  of  un- 
speakable horrors.  The  vile  spirit  gained  such  con- 
trol of  its  victims  as  to  dominate  every  word  and  ac- 
tion. In  the  one  sense  that  the  possessed  lost  control 
of  himself,  it  resembled  insanity,  but  in  this  particular 
only.  The  loss  of  control  consisted  in  being  under 
control  of  an  intelligence  greater  than  himself. 

Imagine  yourself  brought  under  the  control  of  a 
power  that  is  all  evil  and  vile.  Then  consider  the 
necessary  personal  contact  as  this  foul  creature  folds 
you  in  its  slimy  embrace!  Then  realize,  if  you  can, 
that  this  repulsive  thing  should  compel  you  to  say  and 
do  all  that  was  hateful  and  odious  to  you!  By  this 
process  you  may  be  able  to  arrive  at  some  conclusion 
as  to  the  condition  of  those  whom  Jesus  delivered 
from  such  bondage. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  prime  instrument  to 
enable  evil  spirits  to  bring  about  this  condition,  was 
the  one  employed  by  Satan  in  the  temptation  of 
Christ.  This  was  the  power  of  suggestion.  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  had  Christ  yielded,  He,  too,  would  have 
been  so  possessed?  The  aim  of  Satan  as  revealed  in 
his  language,  "If  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship 


116  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

me,"  seems  to  plainly  imply  such  a  contingency.  Had 
such  a  thing  been  possible,  Satan  would  not  only  have 
gained  control  politically,.,  but.,  personally,  as  well 
Every  man,  woman  and  child  would  have  been  at  his 

mercy. 

But  no  matter  in  what  way  it  was  done,  nor  what 
possibilities  Satan  had  in  view,  it  is  certain  that  no 
part  of  Gospel  history  is  better  authenticated.  Though 
peculiar  to  that  era,  it  existed  then,  and  Christ  de- 
livered from  it  all  who  were  brought  to  Him  and  per- 
haps there  are  thousands  of  cases  not  mentioned,  in 
which  He  intervened.  Even  the  scribes  and  Pharisees 
were  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  power  of  Jesus 
in  this  respect.  When  the  blind  and  dumb  devil  was 
cast  out,  the  only  explanation  they  could  give  was  that 
He  cast  out  devils  by  the  prince  of  devils. 

THE  UNPARDONABLE  SIN. 

The  casting  out  of  devils  by  our  Lord — (for 
Christ  having  come,  "Satan  came  also") — caused  great 
excitement  at  that  time.  It  has  also,  in  certain  quarters, 
caused  much  discussion  since.  The  Pharisees  were 
specially  exercised  over  it,  and  as  hereinbefore  men- 
tioned, ascribed  His  power  to  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of 
devils.  They  did  not  go  so  far,  however,  as  some  of 
our  modern  critics,  and  claim  that  devils  were  not 
in  fact  cast  out.  There  were  the  facts  as  palpable  as 
anything  in  plain  sight.  Could  they  have  done  so,  they 
would  have  set  up  the  claim,  like  some  of  today,  that 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  117 

those  thus  delivered  were  merely  insane.  They  would 
have  invented  some  such  excuse  for  the  healing.  Or 
would  possibly  have  claimed  that  He  used  some  sort 
of  magic. 

But  there  was  no  grounds  for  such  contention. 
They  were  bound  to  admit  that  wonderful  works  had 
been  wrought,  and  the  only  way  in  which  they  could 
meet  the  situation,  was  to  claim  that  He  cast  out  devils 
by  the  prince  of  devils.  This  was  ascribing  the  works 
of  God  to  the  devil,  which  Jesus  declared  to  be  an 
unpardonable  sin,  it  being  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

For  one  who  has  become  so  hopelessly  abandon- 
ed as  to  attribute  the  works  of  the  Spirit  to  the  devil, 
has  reached  that  point  in  a  downward  career  where 
he  entirely  severs  himself  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  To 
those  who  have  not  thus  placed  themselves  outside 
His  influence,  the  Holy  Ghost  always  attests  His 
work.  It  is  authenticated  and  confirmed  unmistake- 
ably.  Therefore,  those  who  ascribe  His  works  to 
Satan,  must  previously  have  rejected  and  separated 
themselves  from  and  refused  to  be  influenced  by  Him. 
And,  as  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost  that  leads  up  to  repent- 
ance, how  can  such  an  one  repent?  And  if  he  cannot 
repent,  how  can  he  be  saved? 

This  seems  to  be  the  logic  of  the  case,  and  those 
who  raise  a  question  as  to  this  great  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  casting  out  devils,  or  in  casting  out  sin  from 
the  human  heart,  and  say,  "How  can  these  things 


118  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

be,"  are,  to  say  the  least,  treading  on  dangerous 
ground.  By  persevering  in  this  direction,  they  may 
finally  come  to  a  point  where  they  will  entirely  reject 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  thereby  place  them- 
selves outside  His  influence.  Henceforth  they  are 
beyond  the  possibility  of  repentance,  and  therefore  of 
salvation. 

The  Pharisees  uttered  against  Jesus  the  most 
malignant  and  loathsome  slanders,  to-wit:  That  He 
had  a  devil.  Yet  he  said:  " Whosoever  speaks  a 
word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him;  but  whosoever  shall  speak  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this 
world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come."  There  must, 
therefore,  be  an  ciwful  significance  to  this  sin  that  so 
distinguishes  it  from  all  others.  It  must  have  been 
this  sin  that  caused  the  destruction  of  the  ante-delu- 
vian  world.  At  that  time  God  said,  "My  Spirit  shall 
not  always  strive  with  man,*'  thus  indicating  that  the 
then  existing  people  had  resisted  the  Holy  Ghost  until 
they  had  become  hopelessly  depraved.  If  this  were 
so  it  would  be  an  act  of  mercy  to  unborn  generations 
to  remove  them.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain 
that  there  is  no  hope  for  any  that  commits  this  sin. 

THE  SCRIBES  AND  PHARISEES  AGAIN. 

As  for  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  they  had  from 
time  to  time,  witnessed  the  most  amazing  works  of 
divine  power  at  the  hands  of  Christ.  Surrounded  by 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  119 

these  conclusive  tokens  of  His  Messiahship,  they  still 
called  for  a  "sign/*  as  though  "signs"  were  not  already 
as  thick  as  sands  on  the  sea  shore.  He  reminded  them 
that  though  they  could  discern  the  signs  of  the  sky, 
yet  through  their  blindness  and  hypocracy  they  could 
not  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  furthermore 
that  no  sign  should  be  given  them  but  the  sign  of 
Jonas  the  prophet. 

They  had  been  rejected  by  John  the  Baptist,  be- 
cause they  failed  to  "bring  forth  fruits  mete  for  re- 
pentance," and  we  are  not  surprised  that  they  set 
themselves  to  oppose  Christ  from  the  start.  They 
consistently  held  to  that  course  to  the  end.  And  this 
regardless  of  His  miracles,  or  His  unassailable  purity 
of  character.  They  first  tried  to  entangle  Him  in  His 
speech.  They  never  made  this  attempt,  however, 
without  afterward  being  sorry  for  it.  They  were  al- 
ways the  ones  to  get  entangled.  He  never  failed  to 
catch  them  in  their  own  trap.  In  every  attempt  dis- 
appointed, moved  by  malice  and  controlled  by  hy- 
pocracy, they  reach  the  uttermost  of  human  folly. 
They  had  evidently  committed  the  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  Christ  turns  His  back  upon  them. 
Henceforth  He  speaks  in  parables  only,  leaving  them 
in  their  darkness  and  superstition.  From  that  time  on 
they  were  chiefly  busy  finding  some  way  to  destroy 
Him.  They  begin  to  show  their  animus,  which  some 
of  the  disciples  report  to  Christ.  To  this  he  answers, 
"Let  them  alone.  They  be  blind  leaders  of  the  blind. 


12Q  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

And  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,   both  shall  fall  into 
the  ditch." 

•'WHOSE  SON  IS  HE?" 

He  finally  begins  to  speak  to  his  disciples  re- 
garding His  coming  death  by  crucifixion.  He  asks 
them,  "Whom  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man 
am?  And  they  said  unto  Him,  'Some  say  that  Thou 
art  John  the  Baptist,  some  Elias,  and  others  Jeremias, 
or  one  of  the  prophets/  He  saith  unto  them,  'But 
whom  say  that  I  am?'  and  Simon  Peter  answered 
and  said  *Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God/  " 

He  had  now  reached  a  crisis  in  His  ministry,  and 
prepares  for  the  final  great  effort.  He  travels  continu- 
ally and  labors  incessantly.  He  teaches,  heals  and 
casts  out  devils.  He  is  finishing  the  foundation  on 
which  His  disciples  are  to  build  His  kingdom.  He 
is  constantly  in  the  public  eye,  and  the  opinions  as  to 
who  He  was  appear  to  have  been  various.  All  sorts 
of  conjectures  were  indulged  in.  They  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  peculiar  notions  of  those  who  entertained 
them.  It  will,  I  think,  be  profitable  in  the  Study  of 
Christ,  to  stop  at  this  place  and  take  note  of  the  opin- 
ions of  the  various  elements  of  society  at  that  time: — 

1.  Herod's    guilty    conscience    tormented    Him 
with  the  belief  that  Christ  was  John  the  Baptist  raised 
from  the  dead. 

2.  The  scribes,    Pharisees  and   rulers,   were   di- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  121 

vided  in  opinion.  No  doubt  many  of  them  believed 
Him  to  be  Messiah  or  at  least  a  Prophet.  As  to  the 
Pharisees,  we  have  already  seen  what  they  did,  and  it 
matters  not  what  they  thought.  This,  of  course,  ap- 
plies to  them  as  a  body,  and  not  to  individuals  who 
dissented  from  them.  The  Saducees  constituted  the 
priesthood,  and  stood  next  to  the  Roman  power. 
They  were  opposed  to  Him  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
His  cleaning  of  the  temple,  for  He  thereby  placed 
Himself  against  an  important  graft.  They  were  also 
afraid  that  He  would  bring  on  them  the  Romans,  who 
would  take  away  from  them  the  little  authority  that 
was  left  them. 

3.  The  publicans,  who  were  universally  hated, 
recognized  in  Him  the  only  Rabbi  who  did  not  despise 
them.      They   probably   for   the   most   part   deserved 
their  reputation,  but  Christ  recognized  an  honest  man 
wherever   He   saw   him,    whether    "in   the   uppermost 
seats  of  the  synagogues,"  or  sitting  at  the  receipt  of 
customs,    collecting   an   odious   tax.      And   so,    before 
the  multitude  He  called  Zacheus  down  from  the  tree 
and  went  to  dine  with  him,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
upper  classes  that  He  should  go  to  dine  with  a  pub- 
lican and  a  sinner.      From  these  circumstances,    it  is 
easy  to  infer  that  the  publicans  and  sinners  were  ready 
to  accept  Him  in  any  capacity  He  might  present  Him- 
self. 

4.  His  kinfolks  shared  the  popular  notions  as 
to  the  materiality  of  Messiah's  kingdom.     His  Sermon 


122  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

on  the  Mount  was  strangely  out  of  tune  with  that  no- 
notion,  and  they  thought  He  was  beside  Himself. 

5.  The  devils  knew  Him  as  the  Christ,   and  in 
fear   and   trembling   besought   Him    to    deal    tenderly 
with  them. 

6.  Then  there  were  the  multitudes  to  whom  He 
ministered.     As  to  them  and  their  friends  there  could 
be  but  one  opinion  as  to  His  miraculous  power. 

7.  The    Gallileans    had    always    received    Him 
with   joy,    and    in   vast   numbers   they    followed    Him 
in  His  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem. 

8.  The    five    thousand    men   whom    he    fed    on 
five  loaves  and  two  fishes,   endeavored  to  take  Him 
by   force   and   make   Him   king.      The   object   was   to 
secure  a  king  who  could  thus  feed  them.      He  turned 
on  them  with  a  stern  rebuke,  and  from  that  on  they 
ceased   to   follow  Him.       (Would     that    our    modern 
seekers  for  the  loaves  and  fishes  would  have  the  grace 
to  do  as  much.) 

9.  At  this  point  Jesus  says  to  the  twelve,   "Will 
ye  also  go  away."     This  causes  Peter  to  say,  "Lord  to 
whom  shall  we  go?      Thou  has  the  words  of  eternal 
life,   and  we  believe  and  are  sure  that  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."     So  after  so  long 
a  time,  one  at  least  has  a  correct  idea  as  to  the  Char- 
acter of  Christ 

This  much  is  certain,  that  during  this  time,  there 
was,  wherever  He  went,  great  excitement  amongst 
the  people.  This  was  not  only  because  of  the  works 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  123 

He  did,  but  also  because  of  the  newness  of  His  doc- 
trine, and  the  vigor  and  openness  by  which  He  de- 
nounced the  scribes  and  Pharisees. 

But  though  the  people  followed  Him,  and  heard 
Him  gladly,  they  would  not  repent.  They  looked 
rather  for  Him  to  do  some  great  thing  against  the 
Romans.  This  was  to  them  the  one  object  worth 
striving  for.  He  could  get  no  one  to  understand. 
Even  Peter,  who  believed  Him  to  be  the  very  Christ, 
could  go  no  further  than  that.  He  was  ignorant 
of  the  true  character  of  His  kingdom  until  long  after 
the  ascension. 

At  this  time  the  Pharisees  and  Saducees  take  the 
offensive.  They  go  from  Jerusalem  into  Gallilee  for 
that  purpose.  They  find  that  they  must  overcome 
or  be  overcome.  The  case  with  them  has  become 
desperate,  and  they  must  act  at  once.  So  we  find 
in  Matthew  the  following: 

From  that  time  forth  began  Jesus  to  show  to  His 
disciples  how  He  must  go  to  Jerusalem,  and  suffer 
many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and 
scribes,  and  be  killed  and  be  raised  again  the  third 
day. 

Six  days  after  this  saying  occurred  His  trans- 
figuration at  which  Moses  and  Elias  appeared  and 
talked  with  Him  about  his  descease  which  He  was 
to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.  And  immediately  after 
this  we  find  Him  discoursing  again  to  His  disciples 
about  His  death,  saying,  "The  Son  of  man  shall  be 


124  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

betrayed  into  the  hands  of  men,   and  they  shall  kill 
Him,   and  the  third  day  He  shall  be  raised   again." 

A  NEW  FEELING. 

As  the  time  drew  nigh  for  His  final  entry  into 
Jerusalem,  His  activity  must  needs  increase  with  the 
demands  of  His  work  and  the  shortness  of  time.  A 
new  feeling  with  regard  to  Him  began  to  develop. 
It  was  felt  both  by  His  friends  and  His  foes.  They 
discovered  in  Him  an  irresistible  force  which  they 
could  not  understand,  and  the  outcome  of  which  they 
could  not  divine.  This  gave  rise  to  a  feeling  akin  to 
fear.  After  nineteen  hundred  years,  such  a  thought 
seems  strange  to  us,  but  if  we  reflect  on  the  condi- 
tions then  existing;  we  shall  cease  to  wonder. 

To  get  the  idea  right,  we  must  consider  several 
things:  In  the  first  place,  those  who  rejected  Him 
as  the  Messiah,  could  account  for  Him  in  no  rational 
way.  The  power  He  exercised  over  the  material 
world  as  well  as  over  evil  spirits,  was  to  them  an 
enigma.  The  only  way  out  of  the  dilemma  was  either 
the  absurd  notion  that  He  was  one  of  the  prophets 
raised  from  the  dead,  or  that  as  the  Pharisees  claim- 
ed, He  had  a  devil,  or  that  He  was  indeed  the  Christ. 

Herod  evidently  feared  to  have  Him  within  his 
dominions,  and  doubtless  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
advice  of  the  Pharisees  when  they  said:  "Get  Thee 
out  and  depart  hence,  for  Herod  will  kill  Thee."  To 
this  He  answered,  "Go  ye  and  tell  that  fox,  'Behold  I 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  125 

cast  out  devils,  and  I  do  cures  today  and  tomorrow, 
and  the  next  day  I  shall  be  perfected.  Nevertheless,  I 
must  walk  today  and  tomorrow  and  the  day  follow- 
ing, for  it  cannot  be  that  a  prophet  perish  out  of 
Jerusalem.'  ' 

To  the  chief  men  of  the  Jews,  there  was  some- 
thing utterly  inconsistent  in  the  whole  situation,  and 
the  same  idea  infected,  even  the  immediate  followers 
of  Christ.  It  came  about  in  the  following  way:  He 
did  the  works  of  the  Messiah,  but  His  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  and  His  constant  utterances,  were  at  vari- 
ance with  their  ingrained  ideas  as  to  Messiah's  king- 
dom. His  teachings  could,  by  no  possible  construc- 
tion, foreshadow  any  of  those  powers  known  to  kings 
as  effective  in  establishing  or  maintaining  authority. 
On  the  contrary  He  renounced  and  denounced  all 
such  things.  No  worldly  kingdom  could  be  set  up 
or  run  on  the  theory  of  the  Beatitudes.  All  His 
words  and  actions  were  completely  at  variance  with 
the  militant  idea.  Hence  how  could  He  set  up  or  rule 
from  the  throne  of  David  ?  But  He  surely  had  miracu- 
lous power,  or  at  least  could  do  as  He  pleased.  Here- 
in was  food  for  serious  thought.  In  spite  of  His 
strange  doctrine,  He  might  be  the  Messiah  after  all. 

Now  what  if  it  should  turn  out  that  He  was  the 
Messiah  and,  as  some  asserted,  that  He  had  gone 
mad?  What  would  be  the  result?  Did  not  His  own 
kin  assert  that  he  was  "beside  Himself?"  What  was 
this  about  His  being  the  bread  of  life?  and  about 


126  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

His  disciples  eating  His  flesh  and  drinking  His  blood? 
And  what  about  this  wild  talk  of  rebuilding  the  tem- 
ple in  three  days,  and  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas? 
And  what  of  this  impossible  idea  of  being  born  again? 
And  to  give  further  support  to  this  theory  that  He  had 
gone  mad,  His  hostility  was  aroused  against  the  rulers 
of  the  Jews,  and  not  their  enemies,  the  Romans.  They 
could  not  understand  what  all  these  things  meant. 

Even  the  Apostles  were  at  this  time  afraid  of 
Him.  When  He  spoke  of  going  to  Jerusalem,  and 
as  to  what  should  happen  there,  we  are  told,  "they 
understood  not  that  saying,  and  dare  not  ask  Him/* 
Then  we  find  this  entry:  "And  they  were  in  the  way 
going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  Jesus  went  before  them, 
and  they  were  amazed.  And  as  they  followed,  they 
were  afraid."  Of  what  were  they  afraid?  Was  it  of 
personal  injury,  or  rather  was  it  a  vague,  indefinite 
fear  as  of  one  standing  in  the  presence  of  some  mighty 
and  mysterious  Power  Whose  limits  they  could  not 
define,  and  Whose  action  they  could  not  foresee?  His 
restless  energy  and  apparent  threats  lent  weight  to 
such  a  suggestion:  "I  come/'  he  said,  "to  send  fire 
on  earth,  and  what  will  I  if  it  be  already  kindled? 
But  I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptised  with,  and  how  am  I 
straightened  until  it  be  accomplished?  Suppose  ye 
that  I  am  come  to  give  peace  on  the  earth?  I  tell  you, 
nay,  but  rather  division/' 

These  events  created  a  dread  in  the  minds  of 
all  concerned.  They  could  not  be  accounted  for  on 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  127 

any  hypothesis  then  known,  either  by  His  followers  or 
His  antagonists.  As  for  the  former,  they  followed 
Him  as  far  as  Gethsemine.  And  even  here  Peter 
would  defend  Him  with  his  sword,  but  met  such  a 
rebuke  that  it  seems  temporarily,  he  lost  his  faith 
in  Him.  As  for  His  antagonists,  they  saw  that  the 
crisis  was  near,  and  that  they  must,  as  hereinbefore 
stated,  overcome  or  be  overcome. 

As  for  Jesus  Himself,  no  fact  is  more  patent  than 
that  He  knew  the  end  was  near.  He  contemplated 
and  spoke  of  His  death  soon  to  follow.  He  pre- 
pared in  the  most  systematic  way  for  it.  Not  to  say, 
however,  that  He  connived  at  it,  but  as  knowing  that 
it  must  needs  happen.  The  events  that  preceded  it 
are  followed  up  with  a  consistency  that  leaves  no 
doubt  on  that  score.  The  manner  of  its  accomplish- 
ment unfolded  before  Him.  In  the  way  thus  pointed 
out,  He  walked  with  promptness  and  decision.  Had 
He  not  talked  with  Moses  and  Elias  about  it  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration?  and  did  He  not  see  that 
it  should  happen  through  the  iniative  of  the  chief 
men  of  the  Jews,  and  not  of  the  Romans? 

THE  PLOT  THICKENS. 

Well  these  men  knew  that  they  must  now  fight 
for  very  existence.  On  the  part  of  the  rulers  it  was 
a  matter  of  politics,  and  herein  of  bread  and  butter. 
As  to  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  it  was  a  matter  of 
business,  and  herein  of  bread  and  butter  also,  for  if 


128  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

they  lost  their  ascendency  over  the  Jewish  mind,  they 
could  no  longer  "devour  widow's  houses/*  The  pre- 
tense of  "long  prayers"  would  no  longer  be  effective. 
With  them  besides  was  the  stimulous  of  malice  to 
urge  them  to  desperation. 

The  efforts  of  both  parties  were  directed  toward 
the  one  point,  to-wit,  that  He  was  not  the  Messiah.  If 
they  could  establish  this,  they  were  safe.  If  they 
failed,  they  must  of  necessity  become  involved  in  ut- 
ter ruin.  The  scribes  and  Pharisees  had  seen  this 
from  the  beginning.  Being  rejected  of  John,  they 
could  expect  no  better  of  Christ.  So  they  were  active 
against  Him  from  the  start,  and  followed  Him  from 
place  to  place.  They  were  everywhere  on  all  occas- 
ions, raising  questions  and  demanding  "signs."  One 
of  their  favorite  methods  of  creating  prejudice  against 
Him,  was  to  express  horror  that  He  or  His  disciples 
should  violate  the  Sabbath.  With  regard  to  this  day 
they  had  taught  the  people  many  artificial  and  sense- 
less formalities.  Instead  of  making  it  a  day  of  rest, 
they  had  converted  it  into  a  superstition,  and  a  means 
of  oppression.  But  Jesus  brought  them  back  to  its 
real  intention,  and  that  with  a  turn.  He  said  the  Sab- 
bath was  made  for  man  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath. 
At  the  same  time  He  declared  Himself  the  Lord  of 
the  Sabbath.  How  their  holy  souls  must  have  been 
shocked  at  such  words!  So  after  He  had  said  this  and 
healed  the  man  with  the  withered  hand,  the  Pharisees 
went  out  and  laid  another  plot  to  destroy  Him. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  129 

But  if  they  should  slay  Him  without  showing 
that  He  was  an  imposter,  the  people  would  visit  His 
blood  upon  them.  Again  if  He  were  the  Christ,  they 
supposed  that  He  could  not  be  slain  at  all,  as  He 
would  remain  forever.  Therefore,  there  must  be  a 
showing  to  the  effect  that  He  was  not  the  Christ  that 
should  come.  This  might  be  done  in  two  ways: — >. 

1.  Demonstrate   that   He   was   at   fault  in   His 
teaching. 

2.  Prove  Him  to  be  a  sinner. 

The  first  mentioned  seemed  the  easiest  and  safest 
way.  In  this  they  employed  all  their  subtility  and 
learning.  They  had  the  advantage  of  choosing  their 
own  subjects  and  occasions.  They  pitted  against  Him 
their  shrewdest  wranglers.  But  they  made  no  head- 
way. In  fact  they  seldom  came  out  whole.  He  had 
the  unpleasant  habit  of  turning  the  tables  by  counter- 
questions  which  either  they  could  not  or  dare  not 
answer.  In  this  way  He  made  them  the  laughing 
stock  of  the  people. 

But  with  a  persistency  worthy  of  a  better  cause, 
they  followed  this  course  until  His  triumphant  entry 
into  Jerusalem.  Then  it  became  the  duty  of  the  chief 
priests  and  elders  to  undertake  to  confute  Him.  This 
they  were  quick  to  do,  but  it  was  to  their  chagrin. 
The  results  were  extremely  disastrous,  and  they  with- 
drew badly  "mussed  up."  At  this  time  the  Pharisees, 
not  satisfied  with  their  previous  experiences,  try  their 
hands  again.  They  now  had  a  poser  that  would  get 


130  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

Him  into  trouble,  which  ever  way  he  might  answer 
it  It  was  about  paying  tribute  to  Caesar,  but  they 
went  away  marveling  at  His  answer. 

Now  the  Saducees  had  a  favorite  question  about 
the  resurrection,  with  which  they  used  to  "stump" 
the  Pharisees.  They  brought  it  to  Christ,  and  when 
they  slunk  away,  were  "wiser  if  not  better  men." 
Though  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  were  pleased  that 
He  had  put  the  Saducees  to  shame,  they  gathered  in 
a  body  and  waited  upon  Him  with  the  evident  purpose 
of  crying  Him  down;  but  He  answered  their  question 
even  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  lawyer  they  put  forth 
to  propound  it.  But  now  He  takes  the  aggressive,  and 
forever  puts  an  end  to  their  catechizing.  I  quote  from 
Matthew: — 

"While  the  Pharisees  were  gathered  together, 
Jesus  answered  them,  saying:  What  think  ye  of 
Christ?  Whose  Son  is  He?  They  say  unto  Him  the 
son  of  David.  He  saith  unto  them,  How  then  does 
David  in  spirit  call  Him  Lord?,  saying,  the  Lord 
said  unto  my  Lord,  sit  Thou  on  My  right  hand,  till  I 
make  Thine  enemies  Thy  footstool?  If  David  then 
call  Him  Lord,  how  is  He  his  son?  And  no  man  was 
able  to  answer  Him  a  word,  neither  durst  any  man 
from  that  day  forth,  ask  Him  any  more  questions." 

Thus  ended  in  ignominious  failure  the  first  part 
of  the  scheme,  and  the  alternative  must  now  be  work- 
ed for  all  it  is  worth.  The  Pharisees  went  to  the  chief 
priests  and  they  had  a  consultation.  This  was  the  con- 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  131 

elusion  to  which  they  came:  "What  do  we?  For  this 
man  doeth  many  miracles.  If  we  leave  Him  thus 
alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  Him,  and  the  Romans 
shall  come  and  take  away  both  our  place  and  nation." 
This  appealed  very  strongly  to  the  chief  priests,  but 
the  Pharisees  when  by  themselves  reasoned  as  fol- 
lows: "The  Pharisees  therefore  said  among  them- 
selves, Perceive  ye  how  ye  prevail  nothing  Behold 
the  world  is  gone  after  Him." 

The  only  thing  now  that  could  be  done  was  to 
prove  Him  to  be  a  sinner,  and  hence  not  the  Messiah. 
That  He  was  a  sinner,  they  had  no  doubt.  Had  he 
not  made  Himself  the  Son  of  God?  Had  He  not 
openly  violated  the  Sabbath?  Did  He  not  say  that 
He  would  rebuild  the  temple  in  three  days,  thus  prov- 
ing that  He  was  mad?  Had  He  not  denounced  them 
before  the  people  as  hypocrites,  as  vipers,  as  serpents 
and  as  painted  sepulchurs?  Miracle  or  no  miracle, 
He  was  a  sinner,  and  if  they  could  once  get  Him  within 
their  power,  they  could  prove  it. 

But  how  to  do  this  was  the  question,  for  they 
feared  the  people.  Now  Jesus  had  performed  a  mira- 
cle that  at  once  helped  and  hindered  them  in  their 
efforts.  It  was  the  raising  of  Lazarus  after  he  had 
been  four  days  dead.  Lazarus  being  a  noted  man, 
living  near  to  Jerusalem,  the  miracle  was  a  dangerous 
one  for  them,  and  they  planned  to  put  Lazarus  to 
death,  also.  It  was  because  of  this  miracle  that  Mary 
anointed  Christ.  This  caused  Judas  Iscariot  to  pretend 


132  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

to  be  greatly  outraged  because  of  the  wasting  of  the 
ointment.  Being  rebuked  by  Christ  because  of  his 
assumed  care  for  the  poor,  he  went  to  the  chief  priests 
and  offered  to  deliver  Him  to  them  privately.  At 
this  point  began  the  other  and  remaining  part  of  the 
program,  to-wit:  The  attempt  to  convict  Him  of  sin. 
Now  the  rulers  of  the  Jews  had  the  following 
additional  reasons  for  not  accepting  Christ:  They 
knew  that  when  Messias  should  come  He  would  be 
the  end  and  fulfillment  of  the  law.  That  thereupon 
the  scepter  should  "depart  from  Judah,"  and  that 
unto  Christ  should  "the  gathering  of  the  people  be." 
The  temple  services,  with  all  their  rich  emoluments 
would  have  no  further  legal  status.  Consequently 
it  was  with  them  a  case  of  Othelo's  occupation  being 
gone.  As  herein  before  stated,  it  was  a  case  of  poli- 
tics, and  with  the  hangerson  at  the  temple,  a  matter  of 
bread  and  butter. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  END. 

They  finally  had  Jesus  in  their  hands,  to  do  with 
as  they  pleased  They  were  sure  that  now  they  could 
prove  the  falacy  of  His  claims.  And  there  had  come 
over  the  Nazarine  a  change  that  seemed  to  augur 
well  for  them.  He  no  longer  prevented  them,  but 
yielded  Himself  unresistingly  into  their  hands. 

But  we  must  go  back  a  little  in  order  to  see  why 
this  is  so:  On  His  triumphal  entry  into  the  Holy 
City,  He  entered  the  temple  and  * 'looked  around 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  133 

upon  all  the  things,* *  and  it  being  evening,  retired  to 
Bethany.  Returning  in  the  morning,  He  again  "cast 
out  them  that  bought  and  sold  in  the  temple,  and 
overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money-changers,  and  the 
seats  of  them  that  sold  doves,  and  would  not  suffer 
that  any  man  should  carry  a  vessel  through  the  tem- 
ple. And  He  taught  them,  saying,  "My  house  shall 
be  called  of  all  nations  the  house  of  prayer,  but  ye 
have  made  it  a  den  of  thieves."  By  the  next  day 
the  chief  priests  and  scribes  and  elders  had  sufficiently 
recovered  themselves  to  ask  Him  by  what  authority 
He  did  these  things.  But  this  He  refused  to  tell 
them  because  they  declined  to  say  whether  or  not  the 
baptism  of  John  was  from  heaven  or  of  men. 

At  this  point  something  strange  happened.  The 
shadow  of  Calvary  fell  upon  Him.  When  told  of  cer- 
tain Greeks  who  desired  to  see  Him,  he  said:  "The 
hour  is  come  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  glorified. 
#  *  *  Now  is  my  soul  troubled,  and  what  shall  I 
say?  Father  save  Me  from  this  hour."  The  dark- 
ness is  gathering  around  him.  "Father  save  Me  from 
this  hour"  is  a  new  prayer  for  Him.  It  may  have  in- 
dicated that  from  hence  forth  He  must  walk  along. 
It  is  unlawful  for  Him  to  use  His  power  and  authority 
in  His  own  behalf,  and  He  must  now  passively  submit 
to  all  this  precious  set  of  villains  see  fit  to  subject  Him 
to.  But  there  is  an  aweful  preparation  for  Him  to  go 
through  before  He  enters  upon  this  ordeal. 

It  is  Gethsemene  that  He  first  must  face.     There 


134  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

we  find  Him  "sore  amazed  *  and  horror  stricken.  His 
soul  becomes  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto  death. 
Desolate  and  undone,  prone  and  prostrate,  His  oozing 
blood  staining  the  ground,  in  His  transports  of  woe 
He  turns  to  His  disciples,  but  in  vain.  But  He  will 
drink  THE  CUP  if  His  Father  wills.  What  it  was,  I 
dare  not  even  guess.  I  can  only  stand  in  awe.  At 
last  an  angel  appears  and  strengthens  Him.  Was  it 
that  He  might  live?  Again  I  stand  in  awe  and  dare 
not  guess. 

But  the  hour  at  last  arrived  for  Him  to  be  be- 
trayed and  delivered  into  the  hands  of  those  who  now 
undertake  to  prove  Him  to  be  a  sinner  and  hence 
not  the  Christ.  In  spite  of  all  that  was  done  by  the 
prevailing  party,  there  were  still  many  of  the  rulers 
and  chief  men  who  believd  on  Him,  but  like  Nico- 
demus,  secretly  for  fear  of  the  Jews.  Indeed,  after 
what  has  been  said  about  Him,  Nicodemus  must  be 
given  credit  for  having  on  a  previous  occasion,  pro- 
tested when  the  counsel  proceeded  to  condemn  Christ 
in  advance,  that  the  law  did  not  condemn  any  one 
without  a  hearing.  But  they  soon  silenced  him  with 
the  question,  "Art  thou  also  of  Gallilee?  Search  and 
look,  for  out  of  Gallilee  ariseth  no  prophet/*  This 
was  enough  for  Nicodemus,  and  he  at  once  subsided. 
Of  course  none  of  these  men  made  any  showing  for 
Him  in  the  hour  of  His  humiliation.  Neither  before 
Annas,  nor  Caiaphas,  neither  before  Herod  nor  Pilate 
did  they  raise  a  voice  once  for  the  Nazarine.  Not  a 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  135 

counselor,   nor  a  lawyer  in  all  Jerusalem  to  plead  his 
cause ! 

•'BEHOLD  THE  LAMB  OF  GOD/' 
But  He  is  dragged  before  Annas,  and  by  Him 
sent  to  Gaiphas.  Here  they  were  all  assembled  pre- 
pared to  demonstrate  that  He  could  be  made  to  com- 
mit sin  and  hence  was  not  Messias.  Those  having 
Him  in  charge  were  well  instructed,  and  surely  did 
their  parts  well.  Under  pretense  that  He  had  com- 
mitted contempt  of  court,  one  of  the  officers  struck 
Him.  You  can  imagine  the  men  who  had  brought 
about  the  scene,  craning  their  necks  to  see  what  the 
effect  would  be.  Dazed  and  staggering  from  the 
blow,  it  was  expected  that  He  would  show  fear  or  re- 
sentment, or  do  or  say  something  that  would  justify 
the  arrest.  But  they  were  again  disappointd.  He 
calmly  replies  to  the  fellow  who  struck  Him,  "If  I 
have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil,  but  if  well, 
why  smiteth  thou  me?"  He  is  taken  before  Pilate, 
then  to  Herod  and  back  to  Pilate  again.  They  spit 
in  His  face,  they  strike  Him  with  their  fists,  and  with 
the  palms  of  their  hands.  They  mock  and  deride 
Him.  They  press  upon  His  head  a  crown  of  thorns. 
They  scourage  Him  and  every  coward  among  them 
smites  Him  at  will.  As  time  goes  by,  the  mob  that 
has  been  hired  for  the  purpose,  grows  more  excited, 
and  howls  louder.  The  accusers  become  court  and 
jury.  The  heathen  Pilate  is  the  only  friend  He  has, 
and  he  finally  yields.  At  last,  bruised  and  bleeding, 


136  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

week  and  falling  under  His  cross,  they  lead  the  Naza- 
rine  away  to  Golgotha. 

But  so  far  He  is  the  victor.  He  has  neither  said 
or  done  anything  inconsisent  with  His  Messiaship.  In 
spite  of  all  they  have  been  able  to  do  to  Him,  He 
is  the  only  calm  and  dignified  one  in  that  tumultuous 
assembly.  But  how  they  would  have  rejoiced  had 
He  given  railing  for  railing,  cursing  for  cursing,  or 
smiting  for  smiting.  Then  they  would  have  wagged 
their  heads  and  laughed  in  glee.  They  would  have 
shouted,  "I  told  you  so!  He  is  not  the  Christ — He 
is  a  sinner  and  we  have  proved  it!" 

But  not  yet — no  the  crucial  test  has  not  yet 
come.  Wait,  they  think,  until  He  is  nailed  to  the 
cross  and  gives  up  all  hope.  Then,  they  fondly  be- 
lieve, He  will  respond  to  suffering.  Then  He  will 
weaken  and  perhaps  confess.  And  on  they  go,  a 
tempestuous  sea  of  human  passion,  roaring  in  its  baf- 
fled rage,  splashing  wildly  around  the  bleeding  and 
exhausted  object  of  its  fury. 

At  last  they  reached  the  fatal  spot.  They  un- 
bind and  throw  Him  violently  on  the  cross.  Stretch- 
ing out  His  arms  upon  the  beam,  they  set  a  spike 
in  each  one  of  His  palms,  and  drive  it  tearing  through 
the  quivering  flesh,  into  the  wood  beneath.  Again 
they  drive  it  little  by  little,  prolonging  with  each  jar 
the  exquisite  torture.  Now  they  bring  His  feet  to- 
gether, and  a  long  spike  is,  with  like  repeated  blows, 
forced  through  them  both. 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OP  THE  CHRIST  137 

The  rulers  and  leaders  of  the  Jews  follow  all 
this  with  a  longing  interest.  They  confidently  expect 
that  these  cruel  thrusts  will  force  from  Him  either  a 
confession  or  a  curse.  A  death-like  pallor  overspreads 
His  face.  It  is  the  more  marked  in  contrast  with  the 
dark  clots  of  blood  that  have  formed  on  His  temples 
and  His  brow  from  the  crown  of  thorns.  As  the 
nailing  goes  slowly  on,  ages  seem  to  pass.  Spasms 
of  torture  seize  Him.  But  through  it  all  He  is  strange- 
ly silent.  So  much  so  that  His  tormentors  are  awed 
into  silence  as  well. 

They  think  it  wonderful  that  His  stubborness 
holds  out  so  long.  But  the  conflict  is  not  over  yet. 
They  raise  the  cross  and  thrust  it  roughtly  into  the 
place  prepared  for  it.  As  it  strikes,  it  further  tears 
and  lacerates  the  delicate  nerves  and  tendons  of  His 
hands  and  feet.  On  these  He  now  hangs.  They 
had  joyfully  anticipated  this  critical  moment,  for  they 
were  certain  that  here  His  fortitude  would  collapse. 
They  stand  back  with  bated  breath.  A  silence  as 
of  the  grave  ensues.  They  are  waiting  for  that  to 
come  which  they  are  sure  must  follow. 

But  strange  to  say,  He  still  holds  out!  But  He 
cannot  long.  It  is  impossible  that  He  can  endure  to 
the  end.  He  soon  will  sin.  He  will  weaken  or  He 
will  curse.  And  then,  O  yes,  when  He  does,  they 
shall  be  fully  justified!  Not  only  so,  but  they  will 
be  commended  for  exposing  a  dangerous  fraud.  Time 
passes  by,  and  still  no  signs  of  breaking  down  come 


138  THE  TRUE  AND  THE  FALSE 

from  the  Nazarine.  At  last  they  become  impatient. 
His  forbearance  is  beyond  all  reason.  Again  they  re- 
new their  former  tactics  of  railing  upon  Him. 

The  following  is  the  combined  account  as  given 
by  the  Evangelists:  "And  they  that  passed  by  re- 
viled Him  and  railed  on  Him,  wagging  their  heads 
and  saying,  *Ah,  Thou  that  destroyest  the  temple,  and 
buildest  it  in  three  days,  save  Thyself.  If  Thou  be  the 
Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross.'  And  the 
people  stood  beholding.  And  the  rulers  also  with 
them  derided  Him,  saying,  'He  saved  others,  let  Him 
save  Himself,  if  He  be  the  Christ,  the  chosen  of  God/ 
Likewise  also,  the  chief  priests,  mocking  Him,  with 
the  scribes  and  elders,  said,  'Let  Christ,  the  king  of 
Israel,  descend  from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and 
believe.  He  saved  others,  Himself  He  cannot  save. 
If  He  be  the  king  of  Israel,  let  Him  come  down  from 
the  cross  and  we  will  believe  Him.  He  trusted  in 
God;  let  Him  deliver  Him  now  if  He  will  have  Him; 
for  He  said  I  am  the  Son  of  God.'  And  the  soldiers 
also  mocked  Him,  saying,  'If  Thou  be  the  king  of  the 
Jews,  save  Thyself.  The  thieves  also  which  were 
crucified  with  Him  reviled  Him,  and  cast  the  same 
in  His  teeth,  saying,  'If  Thou  be  Christ,  save  Thyself 
and  us.'  ' 

But  afterward,  one  of  them  repented,  and  this 
was  the  only  voice  raised  in  His  behalf.  A  repentant 
thief  was  the  only  one  of  that  vast  throng  to  stand 
with  Him  in  that  aweful  hour.  And  vastly  more  than 


A  TOPICAL  STUDY  OF  THE  CHRIST  139 

all  hell  could  devise  and  man  execute,  there  sounds 
out  from  his  riven  soul,  this  fearful  question:  "My 
God!  My  God!  Why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me?" 
Who  dare  comment  on  this?  We  can  only  tremble 
as  we  listen  to  that  interrogation.  At  the  time,  the 
mob  was  howling  so  loud  that  it  was  not  understood 
even  by  those  nearest  Him.  They  thought  He  called 
for  Elias. 

But  now  they  see  that  all  their  taunts  are  unavail- 
ing. They  have  done  their  worst,  and  still  He  is  with- 
out sin.  He  was  never  so  dignified,  so  glorious,  so 
terrible  to  them  as  now.  They  are  awed  into  silence, 
Listen!  He  is  going  to  speak  again!  With  what  hor- 
ror they  must  have  listened  to  these  words.  "Father, 
forgive  them,  they  know  not  what  they  do."  These 
words  are  borne  in  upon  them,  for  they  form  a  prayer 
that  concerns  them  only.  They  now  realize  for  the  first 
time  their  awful  mistake.  Had  they  not  cried  out  to 
Pilate,  "His  blood  be  upon  us  and  our  children?" 
Like  Pilate,  they  now  fain  would  wash  their  hands, 
but  well  they  knew  that  not  all  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
goats  could  cleans  the  stain.  He  died  as  spotless  as 
He  had  lived,  and  they  had  brought  His  blood  upon 
them  and  their  children!  They  had  made  the  stake 
and  lost.  No  wonder  they  fled  from  His  presence, 
beating  their  breasts  and  wailing,  "This  was  a  just 
man."  And,  how  fearfully  for  the  succeeding  nine- 
teen hundred  years  has  his  blood  testified  against 
them! 


ERRATA. 

On  page  31  for  the  heading  "BORN  OF  US," 
read  BORN  FOR  US. 

On  page  52  for  "NOT  MY  MIGHT  NOR  MY 
POWER,  BUT  MY  SPIRIT,"  read  NOT  BY  MIGHT 
NOR  BY  POWER,  BUT  BY  MY  SPIRIT. 


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